Houthi drone triggers sirens in southern Israel

A drone launched by Yemen’s Houthis penetrated Israeli airspace from the Mediterranean Sea on Wednesday evening, triggering air-raid alerts in the country’s south, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed.

The UAV reportedly went down in an open area near the southern city of Ashkelon. No injuries were reported.

The IDF Home Front Command subsequently announced that “the incident has ended.” According to Ynet, residents reported explosions.

Yemen’s Houthis—an Iranian proxy with advanced weapons, including cruise and surface-to-surface missiles, as well as drones—have stepped up their attacks on the Jewish state in recent days, repeatedly sending millions of Israeli civilians running for shelter over the past week.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed on Tuesday that “just as we dealt with [slain Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar in Gaza, [Hamas political leader Ismail] Haniyeh in Tehran and Nasrallah in Beirut, we will also deal with the heads of the Houthis in Sanaa and everywhere in Yemen.”