UPDATE - Israeli army reports intercepting missile launched from Yemen

UPDATES WITH STATEMENT FROM HOUTHIS, REVISES DECK

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM - SANAA (AA) - The Israeli army reported early Friday that it successfully intercepted a missile launched from Yemen toward its southern regions.

In a statement, the Israeli army said: “Regarding the alarms in the Dead Sea and north of Eilat, one missile launched from Yemen was intercepted.”

No damage or casualties were reported in the area.

Later in the day, the Yemeni Houthi group said that it targeted the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel with a hypersonic ballistic missile.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree made the announcement in a statement delivered during a solidarity rally for Palestine and Lebanon in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen.

Saree said that Houthi forces carried out a “high-quality military operation” targeting Nevatim Airbase, located in the Negev desert in southern Israel, using the “Palestine 2” hypersonic ballistic missile.

He added that the missile hit its intended target.

The Nevatim Airbase is a major military and airfield facility near Beersheba in southern Israel.

Israel has continued a devastating offensive on the Gaza Strip since an attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, on Oct. 7, 2023. The onslaught has killed more than 43,500 victims and rendered the enclave almost uninhabitable.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in the blockaded enclave.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi