Houthi missile hits south Tel Aviv, 16 lightly wounded as IDF investigates why interceptors failed

At least 30 Israelis were lightly wounded as the Houthi terrorists in Yemen launched another ballistic missile at Israel early on Saturday morning. Despite several attempts, the IDF failed to intercept the missile, which exploded in a playground in south Tel Aviv.

According to the Magen David Adom rescue services, 16 people were wounded by glass shards from the large explosion, while another 14 people fell while running to seek shelter when rocket alarm sirens woke up hundreds of thousands of people across central Israel at 3:44 a.m.

נזק נרחב לדירות ובתים באזור הנפילה ביפו, בעיקר חלונות וזכוכיות. 14 פצועים קל פונו עד כה. כך נראית הדירה של בת׳ שמספרת שלא הספיקה לרדת למקלט בזמן שכל הזכיות התנפצו בביתה מהפיצוץ בגינה שמתחת לבית pic.twitter.com/UCyD7xmu17
— Bar Peleg (@bar_peleg) December 21, 2024

The ballistic missile attack was the second launched by the Houthis within 48 hours and came one day after the Israeli Air Force (IAF) carried out a series of airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.

The spokesman for the Houthi rebels, Yahya Saree, said the attack was intended “to aid the victory of the oppressed Palestinian people and its fighters,” and again claimed the missile had struck a “military target.”

Footage from the impact site showed a large crater in a playground.

A Houthi ballistic missile just hit a playground in the middle of the night.

A few hours later, there’d be dozens of dead kids.

We have become spoiled to assume ballistic missiles will always be intercepted. pic.twitter.com/nSufGDHE5M
— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) December 21, 2024

The IAF said it will continue to investigate why the interception attempts failed, and said first lessons were already implemented to improve future performance.

According to The Times of Israel, an initial probe showed that several different types of interceptor missiles were launched at the target but missed.

‼️Dramatic footage of the failed attempts to intercept the Houthi missile last night over Tel Aviv

At the beginning of the video - two interceptors go out to the missile, fail to intercept it and apparently destroy themselves in the air, immediately afterwards - the missile… pic.twitter.com/JxA5Nffi2d
— Leslie Young ✡︎ (@AkaLazarus) December 21, 2024

Footage on social media showed two missiles appearing to explode prematurely, shortly before the Houthi missile struck Tel Aviv.

Following the missile launch, a Houthi drone infiltrated southern Israel later on Saturday. Video on social media showed the drone being shot down by an IAF helicopter.

In recent days, the Houthis have markedly increased their attacks on Israel. On Thursday, a drone was shot down off the Tel Aviv coast, while another ballistic missile attack on Monday triggered sirens across the country.

Footage shows Israeli Air Force helicopters shooting down a drone, apparently launched from Yemen by the Iran-backed Houthis, over southern Israel a short while ago. https://t.co/hlf3Pi5Q9X pic.twitter.com/YqMa61Kz0E
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 21, 2024

Since November, the Houthis have now launched seven ballistic missiles and at least six drones at Israel.

“The Iranians are pushing the Houthis behind the scenes to escalate to compensate for Hezbollah’s loss of capabilities and the ceasefire in the north. Iraqi militias have also notably been quieter since Assad’s fall,” commented Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran.

National Unity party leader Benny Gantz agreed that Iran was ultimately responsible.

“The solution for Yemen is in Iran. We must not be content with retaliatory actions against the Houthis – it is time to take care of the head,” he wrote on 𝕏.

Avigdor Liberman, head of the Yisrael Beytenu party, called for Israel to go on the attack against the Houthis, and even to arm local militias and the internationally recognized Yemeni government, which oppose the Houthis.

“We must not wait for the next ballistic missile launched by the Houthis. We must attack all the energy infrastructure at their disposal. All seaports, especially the port of Hodeidah, must be destroyed to the ground, and all other docks must be destroyed, down to the last dock. We must destroy all airports, all airfields, and all runways,” Liberman wrote.

“In addition, contact should be made with the Yemeni government based in Aden, and with the other armed groups, there are at least three or four more, and they need to be provided with funding and weapons. The Houthis must be busy with their survival within Yemen and not with attacks on Israel.”

Early on Thursday morning, 14 Israeli fighter jets, together with refuelers and spy planes, flew about 2,000 kilometers (about 1,250 miles) to Yemen and used over 60 munitions to strike Houthi military targets, the IDF stated. The strikes focused on taking the Houthi-controlled ports out of commission, and destroyed fuel and oil depots, two power stations, and eight tugboats.