The Israel Defense Forces successfully shot down a missile headed for Eilat on Tuesday evening, triggering sirens in the Red Sea resort town.
The IDF’s Arrow air-defense system intercepted the missile in the “Red Sea area” and it did not cross into Israeli territory, the military said.
Earlier on Tuesday, the IDF launched an air-defense missile at an “aerial target,” also setting off alarms in Eilat.
No infiltration of Israeli airspace occurred during the incident, according to the military.
Iran-backed terrorist groups in Syria and Yemen have attacked Israel’s southernmost city several times in recent weeks.
On Thursday, a drone launched by a terrorist group based in Syria hit an elementary school in the city, injuring one person.
The same day, Houthi rebels in Yemen launched a ballistic missile at Eilat, which was intercepted by Israel’s Arrow 3 in the defense system’s first operational use.
Watch: The operational launch of an 'Arrow' interceptor during the Swords of Iron war. pic.twitter.com/uQWTRhk6D9
— Ministry of Defense (@Israel_MOD) November 13, 2023
Israel Defense Forces Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said that “the target did not cross into Israeli territory.”
Later on Thursday evening, a Patriot missile interceptor battery in the south intercepted another “suspicious target” before it crossed into Israeli territory, the IDF said.
In a statement posted to X, a Houthi military spokesman subsequently announced the Iranian-backed terror group had “launched a batch of ballistic missiles at various sensitive targets of the Israeli entity... including military targets in the Umm al-Rashrash area [Eilat].”
Last month, Hamas terrorists in Gaza fired long-range rockets at Haifa and Eilat.
