Israeli army reports intercepting missile from Yemen

JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL

The Israeli army claimed Thursday that it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen.

"Following alerts activated earlier in several areas across the country, the Air Force intercepted a missile fired from Yemen," the military said in a statement. "The missile was intercepted before entering Israeli airspace, and warnings were issued in accordance with established protocols."

Before the statement, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported "sirens sounded in multiple areas in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and settlements in the central occupied West Bank due to the interception of a single missile launched from Yemen."

It noted that "several flights to Tel Aviv were disrupted due to the missile fired from Yemen."

It marks the third time a missile has been launched from Yemen toward Israel since the signing of a ceasefire agreement on Jan. 19 between Israel and the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, which Israel subsequently violated.

More than 700 Palestinians have been killed and over 900 injured in a surprise aerial campaign by Israel on the Gaza Strip since Tuesday, shattering the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.

Nearly 50,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and nearly 113,000 injured in the brutal Israeli military onslaught in Gaza since October 2023.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.