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Houthi Missile Explodes Over Central Israel
Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi addresses followers via a video link at the al-Shaab Mosque, formerly al-Saleh Mosque, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
JNS.org – Israeli air defenses on Sunday morning intercepted fragments of a surface-to-surface missile launched from Yemen that exploded over central Israel.
The attack triggered sirens in central Israel and the Tel Aviv area at around 6:30 a.m.
According to the Magen David Adom emergency service, five individuals suffered light injuries while running for shelters. They were treated on the scene before being referred to hospitals, according to MDA.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed the attack was launched from Yemen, after correcting an initial report that a missile had been launched from the east.
“The explosive sounds heard in the last few minutes are from the interceptors. The result of the interception is under review,” according to the IDF.
In July, a Houthi drone killed a man in central 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.
Hazam al-Assad, a member of the Houthi militia’s political bureau, tweeted on Sunday morning, hours after the attack, that “whether you are in underground shelters or out of them, you must listen carefully this afternoon to what this great leader, who speaks the truth and acts with integrity, will say,” along with a picture of Houthi leader Abd al-Malek Badr al-Din al-Houthi.
He claimed that the missile was “very powerful and hypersonic,” and had ” bypassed all defenses and hit a military area in Lod near Ben Gurion Airport.”
Fragments of an IDF interceptor hit a train station in Modi’in, causing damage, with images from the scene showing shattered glass and damage to an escalator. No injuries were reported.
Other interceptor fragments reportedly fell in an agricultural field near Lod, a city just under 10 miles southeast of Tel Aviv. Four firefighting teams were working to control a blaze that broke out near Moshav Kfar Daniel as a result, which posed no immediate danger to nearby homes.
The Israeli security establishment’s initial assessment is that the missile disintegrated in the air, according to Channel 12 News. Based on the initial investigation, it appears that Israel’s Arrow defense system intercepted one of the fragments while the Iron Dome system shot down others.
The interceptor fragments fell in open areas, except for the shrapnel that hit the train station. The fragments of the Houthi missile itself landed in an open area in the Ben Shemen area.
Ben Gurion Airport was operating on a regular schedule Sunday, with 62,000 passengers expected to pass through Israel on 375 flights.
On Friday, the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza said it had fired two rockets toward Tel Aviv. The IDF said that one of the projectiles fell in the sea, and the other did not cross into Israeli territory. Residents of the Gush Dan region of central Israel reported a loud explosion.
Hamas said it had launched “two M90 rockets” toward Tel Aviv, with a source from the terror group telling the Hezbollah-aligned Lebanese news site Al Mayadeen that the rockets were launched from Khan Yunis, where the IDF is currently operating.
The post Houthi Missile Explodes Over Central Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.