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IDF downs ballistic missile fired from Yemen at central Israel

Millions sheltered in central Israel, per the Israel Defense Forces.

Arrow system
The “Arrow II” intercepting missile launcher at the Palmachim Israeli Airforce base, near the central city of Rishon Letzion, on May 9, 2014. Photo by Hadas Parush/Flash 90.

Israel’s “Arrow” defense system intercepted a surface-to-surface ballistic missile fired at the Jewish state from Yemen, the Israel Defense Forces stated early on Friday morning.

The missile was downed “outside [Israel’s] borders,” according to the military.

“Sirens and explosions were heard following the interception and falling shrapnel,” the IDF said. Some 15 minutes earlier, the IDF stated that “millions of Israelis are running to shelter as sirens sound across all of central Israel.”

The IDF Home Front Command said there was no change in directives for residents of the country’s center.

On Sept. 15, Israeli air defenses intercepted fragments of a surface-to-surface missile launched from Yemen that exploded over central Israel.

In July, a Houthi drone killed a man in Tel Aviv, in response to which Israel struck Yemen’s Hodeidah port. The Iranian terror proxy has launched dozens of drones and missiles at Israel in support of Hamas in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023.

On Wednesday, the IDF intercepted a surface-to-surface ballistic missile fired by Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon at central Israel. Hezbollah claimed that the attack targeted the headquarters of the Mossad intelligence agency.

“This political environment could discourage congressional committee staff and federal agency personnel from pursuing investigations or enforcement actions involving antisemitism,” Karen Paikin Barall of the Brandeis Center told JNS.
The attack came as the IDF reinforced troops in Judea and Samaria ahead of Israel’s Oct. 27 election.
“There is not, and there will not be, a Palestinian state,” the Israeli prime minister pledged. He also called for the corruption trial against him to be dropped.
The U.S. envoy also said antisemitism “didn’t exist” during his upbringing and warned of an unintended clash between Israel and Turkey.