Two missiles fired from Yemen intercepted: Israeli military

Jerusalem, May 2 (IANS) The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Friday that it had intercepted two missiles fired from Yemen.

In the latest incident this afternoon, air raid sirens were activated in northern Israel, as the IDF stated that it is examining the outcome of interception efforts targeting a ballistic missile. No injuries or damage have been reported so far.

It follows the IDF's interception of a missile also launched from Yemen early Friday morning. Israel's national emergency service, MDA, said in a statement that there were no reports of casualties, except for a man who was bruised on his way to a shelter, Xinhua news agency reported.

Israel's state-owned Kan TV reported that in the morning incident, interceptor debris hit a kindergarten in Mishmar HaEmek, a kibbutz in northern Israel, but caused no casualties.

Earlier on April 27, Israel's military said that it had intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Yemen toward the Dead Sea.

Police said sirens were sounded in the Dead Sea area and the Arava region. No casualties were reported, said the country's Magen David Adom rescue service.

Israel's Channel 12 reported that this was the 11th missile the Houthis had launched toward Israel since the beginning of April.

Earlier on April 26, Yemen's Houthis claimed responsibility for a missile attack that reportedly triggered sirens across southern Israel.

"We targeted the Israeli enemy's Nevatim Air Base in the Negev region using a hypersonic ballistic missile," which had "successfully reached the target," Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a televised statement aired by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.

Sarea said the operation came in response to "the ongoing Israeli offensive on Gaza," vowing to launch more attacks until the Israeli aggression on the Palestinian enclave stops and the blockade on it is lifted.

The Houthi group, which controls much of northern Yemen, has been targeting Israeli targets since November 2023 to show solidarity with Palestinians amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

--IANS

int/jk/vd