Israeli army says missile from Yemen intercepted while en route to Eilat city

By Said Amouri

JERUSALEM (AA) — The Israeli army said on Thursday that it had intercepted a missile "launched from Yemen" towards its southern city of Eilat.

The missile "did not breach Israeli airspace," said the army statement, which came after a kamikaze drone caused an explosion inside an Eilat schoolyard.

Israeli security sources have suggested that Houthi rebels in northern Yemen may have been behind the drone launch.

The group, which has not commented on the matter, had on multiple previous occasions confirmed launching kamikaze drones and missiles at targets inside Israel in response to ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip.

Last Monday, they vowed to "carry out more military operations to support the Palestinian people's plight and in response to the calls of our people and all the nations of the Ummah (Islamic community) until the savage Israeli aggression on Gaza comes to a halt."

At least 10,812 Palestinians, including 4,412 children and 2,918 women, have been killed in Israeli air and ground attacks in the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7. The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is nearly 1,600, according to official figures.

*Writing by Ziad Aslan in Ankara