Ballistic missile launched from Yemen triggers alarms in central Israel | DM Katz says 'we're the closest to hostage deal since last deal' | IDF Navy ship shoots down Houthi drone

16:25 - Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says to wait for response to Houthis

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the head of the Religious Zionism party, was asked at the opening of his faction's meeting whether Israel should retaliate against the Houthi rebels, following air raid sirens in central Israel, Samaria, and the Sharon region earlier today.

"The only front that hasn't felt the brunt of our force is the Houthis," Smotrich responded. "Since we decided not to leave any front uncut, I suggest everyone wait."

16:00 - Arrow system intercepted Houthi ballistic missile over Samaria

The IDF spokesman's office announced that the Israeli Air Force intercepted the missile launched from Yemen using the Arrow air defense system. Shrapnel fell in Samaria. However, no casualties have been reported.

15:20 - Ballistic missile launched from Yemen triggered alarms in central Israel

Sirens sounded across central Israel a short while ago in response to a ballistic missile launched from Yemen.

Millions of Israelis in the center of the country scrambled to find shelter in response to the alert. While it is known that the Israeli Air Force intercepted the missile before it crossed over into Israeli territory, the sirens were sounded as a precaution to possible falling shrapnel.

Israeli news channel, N12, reported that the alarms occurred in the courtroom where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's trial is taking place, and the judge's response was, "Let's try to ignore the alarms for now."

13:24 - Court allows Netanyahu to cancel tomorrow's hearing for unknown, urgent reason

The judges hearing the three corruption cases against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved his request to cancel tomorrow's hearing, Israeli media reported.

"After hearing the parties and in view of the existence of exceptional circumstances, we will not hold the hearing tomorrow," the judges announced.

Netanyahu’s defense attorney had asked to cancel the hearing for a hitherto unknown reason, which he explained to the judges in a closed hearing.

The next hearing is now set for Wednesday.

13:13 - DM Katz says 'we're the closest to hostage deal since last deal'

Israel's Defense Minister Katz that Hamas and Israel are closing in on a hostage deal, amid numerous reports in recent days that negotiations were advancing.

"In my estimation, we are the closest to a hostage deal - since the previous deal," Katz said at a meeting of the Knesset's Security and Foreign Policy Committe.

If an agreement was reached, Katz estimates there will be broad support in the coalition. "There will be a large majority in the government for the deal," he said.

11:35 - IDF says symbol of hostage ribbon was due to 'Air Force operational activity'

The IDF released a statement regarding the appearance of an apparent hostage ribbon symbol in the skies earlier this morning that "based on checks conducted so far, it appears that the 'symbols of the hostages' that were drawn in the sky of the country were created as a result of a routine operational activity of the Air Force that created contrails in the air."

10:40 - Air Force investigating whether its pilots drew hostage ribbons

After initial reports pointed to a civilian initiative that drew hostage ribbons in Israel's sky, Army Radio said the Air Force was now investigating who was responsible.

Reportedly, Air Force planes flew in the locations where the paintings were observed, and at the same times, making this explanation the most plausible.

However, Army Radio said the investigation focuses on whether the pilots had approval frmo their commanders, or whether the flight paths created the ribbons by chance.

07:30 – Unknown pilot draws hostage ribbon across Israel’s skies

A ribbon, which has become a symbol for remembering the Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas, was painted across the country’s skies this morning.

According to Army Radio, the initiative was carried out by civilian planes and not by the Israeli Air Force.

The ribbon was widely visible across central Israel, including the greater Tel Aviv and Jerusalem regions.

חטופים.
פארק הלאומי רמת גן pic.twitter.com/aNI62d3Qv1
— יוסי שחבר (@yosi_shahbar) December 16, 2024

07:17 – IDF shoots down over the sea a hostile drone launched from Yemen

The IDF said it shot down a drone that was launched from Yemen over the Mediterranean Sea.

A missile boat of the Navy used the ship-mounted “C-Dome” to intercept the drone before it reached Israeli territory, therefore, no sirens were activated.

According to Army Radio, the Houthi terror group in Yemen has launched 5 ballistic missiles and 5 drones at Israel since the start of November. Israel’s last strikes in Yemen came in September.

06:00 – Alleged Israeli airstrike causes earthquake scare on Syrian coast

An earthquake with a magnitude of 3.1 on the Richter scale was measured after an alleged Israeli airstrike on a munitions depot of the former Syrian army near the coastal city of Tartus late last night.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition-aligned group, claimed the strikes were among the heaviest since 2012, and hit several targets including air defense units and “surface-to-surface missile depots.”

While the earthquake was measured around the same time as the strikes, there is no confirmation that the measurement was directly caused by the strikes.

The Geographic Survey of Israel’s seismology department said the 3.1 tremor was measured at 11:49 p.m. last night, its epicenter being some 28 kilometers (17 miles) off the coast of the city of Banias.