Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

IDF downs Houthi terror missile ahead of Shavuot

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

Houthi Missiles
People take cover on the side of Route 6 near Jaljulia as a siren warns of an incoming missile fired by the Houthis in Yemen, May 13, 2025. Photo by Ayal Margolin/Flash90.

The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday afternoon intercepted a missile launched from Yemen by Iran-backed Houthi terrorists, according to the military.

Air-raid sirens sounded across central Israel—including in Tel Aviv and the Jerusalem area—prompting residents to seek shelter just hours before the start of Shavuot, the Jewish holiday commemorating the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

The attack came just days after the IDF intercepted a Houthi-fired ballistic missile on Thursday evening, forcing millions of civilians in the Tel Aviv area and along the densely populated coastal plain into bomb shelters. Alerts were reported as far north as Netanya and as far south as Gedera.

The Houthis have escalated their assaults on Israel in recent weeks, including a direct hit near Ben-Gurion International Airport on May 4.

Early on Tuesday morning, the IDF intercepted a ballistic missile that was also launched by the terror group. The attack triggered air-raid sirens in the Jordan Valley, as well as several towns in Samaria. There were no reports of casualties or damage.

Hours later, the military announced that the Air Force had shot down another ballistic missile launched at Israel from Yemen. No sirens sounded for that attack, in line with existing policy, the IDF said.

The Israeli Air Force struck Sana’a International Airport the next day, destroying the last operational aircraft used by the Houthis. The strike followed a previous IDF mission on May 6 that targeted the airport.

“This is a clear message and a direct continuation of the policy we established: Whoever fires at the State of Israel will pay a heavy price,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement after the strike.

See more from JNS Staff
In a draft report delivered to the U.S. president, the commission also called for improved religious accommodations for U.S. service members.
Salah Salem Sarsour, accused of concealing Israeli military court convictions on immigration forms, argued his detention was part of a Trump admin effort to target the pro-Palestinian movement.
CENTCOM stated that the strikes targeted missile, drone and radar facilities after the Islamic Republic attacked a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz, calling the assault a violation of the ceasefire.
Now that the primaries are over, “we hope that everyone will come together and be united,” Christine Quinn, chair of the executive committee of the New York State Democratic Party, told JNS.
An Iranian official warned on Friday that the safety of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz without Iran’s permission “cannot be guaranteed.”
“We have put the train back on the tracks and going in the right direction,” said Yechiel Leiter, Israeli ambassador in Washington. “Final destination? Peace between our two countries.”
Benny Gantz, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan S. Tobin, Gilad Erdan, Mosab Hassan Yousef, Nissim Black and leading voices in security, diplomacy, media, law and Jewish communal affairs headline the summit’s third day in Jerusalem.