Rocket alerts went off in northern Israel on Wednesday night, forcing about a million people to go to bomb shelters. The reason was a ballistic missile launched by the Houthi group from Yemen.
According to the IDF, the missile was successfully intercepted by air defences and alarm sirens were activated as a precautionary measure to avoid possible injuries from falling missile debris. There were no injuries reported as a result of the repelled strike.
The alerts were sounded in 52 locations, including Haifa and surrounding areas, where the alert system has not been activated since last November, following a ceasefire agreement with the Lebanon-based group Hezbollah. In accordance with changes to the rocket alert rules that came into effect last week, citizens in the threat zone were notified via an app of the potential danger minutes before the siren went off.
Since March 18, when the Israeli military resumed its operation against the Hamas group in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis have launched more than 20 ballistic missiles and several unmanned aerial vehicles from Yemen towards Israel. Only half of them managed to approach Israeli territory, where they were successfully intercepted.
The Houthis have been attacking Israel since October 2023. In response to the Houthi attacks, Tel Aviv has carried out several strikes against their facilities in Yemen, most recently in January.
