The Israel Defense Forces overnight Thursday intercepted two drones launched “from the east,” the military said.
The phrase is typically used by the IDF to refer to attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen.
The UAVs, intercepted about an hour apart around midnight, did not trigger air-raid sirens as they were not deemed a threat to Israeli population centers.
On Tuesday, the IDF intercepted a Houthi ballistic missile, triggering air-raid sirens across Jerusalem and the Shephelah (Judaean Foothills), including Beit Shemesh and Modi’in, and sending some two million Israelis rushing to shelters. There were no reports of injuries or damage.
The Houthis have been launching missile and drone attacks on the Jewish state—a ballistic missile impacted near Ben-Gurion International Airport on May 4—in support of Hamas since the day after the Palestinian terrorist group’s massacre on Oct. 7, 2023.
In response, Jerusalem has conducted several rounds of strikes against the terrorists, including an operation on May 28 called “Golden Jewel” targeting the airport in Yemen’s Houthi-controlled capital city, Sanaa.
According to a report, the Houthis are training for an invasion of Israel, 1,200 miles away. The terrorist organization recently completed the training of its third cohort of elite operatives for a planned attack dubbed “Al-Aqsa Flood.” The name is the same that Hamas used for its cross-border terror assault on Oct. 7.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on July 28 that Israel remains focused on dismantling Iran’s terrorist proxies across the Middle East. “There are still the two H’s: Hamas and that band of savages down south,” the premier said, referring to the Houthis.
Netanyahu added that Tehran’s broader plan to eradicate the Jewish state “is currently off the table,” describing the IDF’s gains against the Islamic Republic during June’s 12-day war as “historic.”
