Sirens sound in southern Israel after drone infiltration from Yemen

By Rasa Evrensel and Tarek Chouiref

JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL (AA) - Air-raid sirens blared Thursday in the southern Israeli city of Eilat and nearby Ramon Airport after a drone attack from Yemen, local media said.

A military statement said sirens were triggered in southern Israel due to the suspected infiltration of a drone.

Israel Hayom newspaper reported that the alarms were sounded after a drone was believed to have been launched from Yemen.

The army later confirmed that a “suspicious” aerial target was detected, without giving further details.

Early on Thursday, the army said that it had intercepted a drone launched from Yemen, hours after downing a missile, without specifying the location of the interception.

The incidents came a day after Israeli airstrikes on the Yemeni capital Sanaa and the northern province of al-Jawf left 35 people dead and 131 injured, according to the Houthi group.

The Houthis have intensified missile and drone strikes on Israel since Israeli forces resumed attacks on the Gaza Strip in March after two months of a shaky ceasefire.

On Aug. 28, an Israeli airstrike in the Yemeni capital Sanaa killed 12 top Houthi officials, including Prime Minister Ahmed Ghalib Al-Rahawi and nine other ministers.

Since November 2023, the group has targeted commercial shipping in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Arabian Sea in support of Palestinians in Gaza, where more than 64,700 victims have been killed in an Israeli genocide.