An Israeli interceptor missile is fired at a missile launched from Yemen by Houthis, July 21, 2024 (Photo: Screenshot)
Sunday morning, the IDF reported interception of a ballistic missile approaching Israeli territory from Yemen.
The incoming missile was intercepted by Israel’s Arrow 3 aerial defense system outside of Israeli airspace.
Locals in Eilat reported hearing air raid sirens, while video posted to social media showed the Arrow 3 defense missile launching to intercept the incoming threat.
טיל ששוגר לכיוון אילת יורט על ידי מערכת חץ מחוץ לשטח ישראל | עדכונים שוטפים https://t.co/qx7ZoSHfUc@Itsik_zuarets (צילום: אלון וייס, קיבוץ יטבתה) pic.twitter.com/bQfjwmMccY
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) July 21, 2024
While this was the first attack on Eilat following Israel’s dramatic strike against the Houthi port of Hodeida on Saturday, Eilat has been targeted frequently by the Iranian-backed rebel group during the Gaza War.
On Saturday night, following reports online of explosions near Eilat, the IDF released a statement saying, “A short while ago, reports were received regarding explosions heard in the area of Eilat. It was found that no projectiles were fired toward the area of the city and no interceptor was launched.”
Earlier on Saturday, Israel launched a retaliatory response, targeting the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeida, following the killing of one Israeli and the wounding of eight others from a Houthi-launched drone in Tel Aviv.
The drone attack was made using Iranian-supplied weapons, and the port city of Hodeida is the main entry point for Iranian supplies to the rebel group.
Since October, the Houthi rebel group has launched around 200 missiles and drones against Israel, mostly targeting the port city of Eilat. The majority of those projectiles have been intercepted by Israel or by U.S. forces patrolling the southern Red Sea.
During the strike on Hodeida Saturday, Israel also sent a warning to Tehran, as one Israeli official noted, “This is an attack that is 200 kilometers further from Israel than Tehran.”
Besides being the main backer of the Houthi rebel group in Yemen, Iran also supplies weapons and finances to the Hezbollah Shiite terror group in Lebanon, with which Israel has been engaged in a steady cross-border exchange since the start of the Gaza War.
Over the weekend, Hezbollah, along with Hamas elements in southern Lebanon, launched over 100 rockets at Israel in retaliation for the killing of several Hezbollah terrorists on Friday.
The large volume of rocket fire from the terror groups in southern Lebanon has caused significant devastation to forests and agricultural land in northern Israel, especially during the hot, dry summer months.
Security analysts believe that Israel may launch a large scale operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon after the end of the Gaza War. Hezbollah has increasingly threatened Israel, and its positioning of rocket launchers and mortars near the border with Israel is seen as severe threat to Israel’s northern communities.
Since the start of the Gaza War, over 60,000 people have been evacuated from homes in Israel’s northern communities due to attacks by Hezbollah.
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