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IDF Downs Houthi Missile Fired From Yemen
Houthi policemen ride on the back of a patrol pick-up truck during the funeral of Houthi terrorists killed by recent US-led strikes, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 10, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
JNS.org — The Israeli military overnight Thursday downed a missile fired by Houthi terrorists in Yemen that triggered air-raid sirens in central Israel, including in Jerusalem, the greater Tel Aviv area, and parts of Judea.
The missile was intercepted in Israeli airspace, according to the Israel Defense Forces, which was probing reports of debris falling in the city of Modi’in, located between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
There were no immediate reports of direct injuries or damage.
However, Magen David Adom emergency medics treated numerous people who were hurt while rushing to shelter, as well as others suffering from acute anxiety.
Flights in and out of Ben-Gurion International Airport were halted for about 30 minutes due to the Houthi attack, with two planes diverting to Larnaca in Cyprus.
Hours later, the military said that the Air Force had intercepted a drone launched from Yemen.
The unmanned aerial vehicle was downed before crossing into Israeli territory; thus no alerts were activated in accordance with policy.
On Monday night, the Israeli Air Force intercepted a missile fired by Houthi terrorists in Yemen at central Israel, in what was the seventh such nighttime attack over the past two weeks.
The missile was downed before crossing into Israeli territory, according to the military. Air-raid sirens were nevertheless activated due to fears of falling fragments from the interception.
Last Friday night, the IDF intercepted a Houthi missile that triggered air-raid sirens across the Jerusalem, Judea and Dead Sea areas. It was the first time sirens sounded in the capital since the Iranian attack on Oct. 1.
The previous night, sirens blared in the greater Tel Aviv area as the IDF intercepted another Houthi missile fired from Yemen. A US THAAD anti-missile battery assisted in the interception, in the first such instance since the system was deployed to Israel in October.
Houthi terrorists have launched more than 200 missiles and 170 drones at Israel in support of Hamas since the terrorist invasion of the northwestern Negev on Oct. 7, 2023.
On Dec. 26, the Israeli Air Force conducted strikes on the western coast of and deep inside Yemen, including at Sanaa International Airport in the Houthi-controlled capital. The targets included the Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations, in addition to terrorist infrastructure in the Hodeidah, Salif and Ras Kanatib ports.
“These military targets were used by the Houthi terrorist regime to smuggle Iranian weapons into the region and for the entry of senior Iranian officials. This is a further example of the Houthis’ exploitation of civilian infrastructure for military purposes,” the IDF said.
Speaking from IAF headquarters after the strike on the second night of Chanukah, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is engaged in a modern-day Maccabean struggle.
“We are determined to cut off this terrorist arm of Iran’s axis of evil,” the prime minister said. “We will persist in this until we complete the task.”
The post IDF Downs Houthi Missile Fired From Yemen 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.