Houthis fire two missiles as Israel, threaten more attacks if Gaza ceasefire collapses

The Yemen-based, Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist militia fired one missile at central Israel on Saturday morning. Later in the day, another missile heading towards southern Israel was intercepted before it ever reached Israeli airspace. "Sirens sounded per protocol," according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Many Israelis were gathered in their places of worship Saturday morning as the sirens were activated in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and other central cities as the Israeli military announced that its aerial defenses systems has successfully intercepted and neutralized the hostile missile.

Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport suspended all flights while it assessed whether the runways had been damaged during the attack. It was later confirmed that the missile had not caused any damage.

However, the Houthi missile attack forced a Royal Jordanian flight from Chicago to Amman to be diverted away from Israeli airspace. Additionally, a flight departing Ben-Gurion Airport for Dubai was held on the runway during the attack.

While the missile reportedly did not cause any damage, shrapnel from the intercept was identified in two separate areas close to Jerusalem.

The Israeli Red Cross, Magen David Adom, reported that some people were slightly injured while running for shelter. In addition, other Israeli civilians reportedly suffered from anxiety during the attack. 

The Houthi attack on central Israel follows a threat from the terrorist militia to resume its assaults on the Jewish state if the ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza collapses.

The Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree vowed on Friday that the terror group would continue backing Hamas and Gaza and threatened to “expel the Israeli enemy.”

Like its patron in Tehran, the Houthis openly call for Israel’s destruction 

“The goal is to liberate every inch of Palestine,” Saree stated, an expression that refers to wiping Israel off the map. The Houthi terror militia has fired over 200 ballistic missiles and multiple drones at Israel for over a year under the pretext that it is supporting Hamas and the population in Gaza. Israel has responded by launching several aerial strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen. 

Pro-Hamas and pro-Gaza rallies have consequently been held on a regular basis in the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital Sanaa. During the latest rally, Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, referred to the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel as “one round in the confrontation with the Israeli enemy.” The Houthi leader further vowed to fight against Israel until "Palestine is free of occupation."

Some 33 Israeli hostages are expected to be released during the first phase of the ceasefire, which is expected to last for 42 days. It is currently unclear how many of them are still alive. However, Israeli intelligence believes that the majority of the 33 hostages are still alive. 

Yemen is the poorest country in the Arab world and many critics have accused the Houthis of using their attacks on Israel to divert attention from the severe humanitarian crisis in war-torn Yemen. 

The Yemeni-Swedish activist Luai Ahmed blasted the Houthis during a visit to Israel in December. 

"Dear Houthis, firing missiles towards Israel is not 'helping Palestinians' – it's ruining Yemen, the poorest country in the Middle East. Yours truly, A Yemeni," Ahmed stated. 

In December, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that if the Houthi attacks against Israel did not end, the Israeli military would eliminate Houthi leaders just like it had previously eliminated Hezbollah and Hamas leaders. 

“Just as we took care of (Yayha) Sinwar in Gaza, (Ismail) Haniyeh in Tehran and (Hassan) Nasrallah in Beirut, we will deal with the heads of the Houthis in Sana’a or anywhere in Yemen,” Katz warned.

“We will act both against their infrastructure and against them to remove the threat,” he added.