An Israeli Air Force investigation into a Houthi ballistic missile that evaded Israel’s aerial defence system and hit a residential area in Jaffa overnight Friday has found that an interceptor missile malfunction caused the failure.
The missile hit a playground in Tel Aviv’s Jaffa neighbourhood at 3:44 am, lightly wounding 16 people.
According to the IAF investigation, the interceptor failure was not related to the partial interception of another Houthi ballistic missile before dawn on Thursday, following which the missile’s warhead hit an elementary school in Ramat Gan, just east of Tel Aviv.
There were no injuries caused by the impact, which collapsed the school’s main building.
The IAF probe into the Jaffa missile strike also ruled out the possibility that the Iranian-backed rebels had made changes to the missile’s trajectory and range.
Israel’s Channel 12 News reported on Saturday that the Israel Defence Forces’ initial assessment suggested the missile might have employed a different type of rocket engine, designed for activation in space. This could have altered its trajectory, complicating detection and interception. Furthermore, investigators examined whether the Houthis had reduced the warhead size to increase fuel capacity, thereby enhancing the missile’s range.
According to Kan News, Arrow interceptors were launched into the upper atmosphere but missed the target outside of Israeli territory. Interceptors were then launched in the lower atmosphere, but also missed the target. Video footage showed the failed interception attempts.
While the attack triggered sirens, residents reported not having enough time to get to protected spaces before impact.
The IDF confirmed that the impact followed “unsuccessful interception attempts.”
Houthi terrorists have launched over 200 missiles and 170 drones at Israel in support of Hamas since the Gaza-based terrorist group’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in the northwestern Negev. The vast majority were intercepted outside of Israeli territory by Israel or the United States.
IAF helicopters down Houthi drone
IAF helicopters shot down a drone over southern Israel on Saturday that was also apparently launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. According to the IDF, the drone crossed the border “from the east.”
The UAV triggered sirens in Gvulot, Talmei Eliyahu and Ein HaBesor during the incident.
Israel’s military believes that the pace of Houthis missile and drone attacks is likely to increase, at the direction of Tehran.
“The Houthis have become Iran’s first line of attack. They have taken on this role, which is why we see an intensification of the threat since the ceasefire” with Hezbollah in Lebanon, said Brig. Gen. (res.) Zvika Haimovich, the former head of the IDF’s Air Defense Command, according to Channel 12. “The solution is to increase measures against the Houthis and focus on Iran as the initiator of these events.”
Israeli trying to build coalition for large attack
The Israeli Air Force struck Houthi targets in Yemen overnight Wednesday. The strikes were carried out by 14 fighter jets in two waves, and targeted sites in Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, and the country’s coastal area.
It was Israel’s third strike in Yemen since the start of the war.
An Israeli Air Force fighter jet positioned shortly before takeoff on a mission to target Houthi terror infrastructure in Yemen, Dec. 19, 2024. Credit: IDF.
Kan reported on Saturday that Israel is planning another major attack on the Houthis, for which it is attempting to rally the U.S.-led international coalition.
Jerusalem is in “close coordination” with the Americans and is urging the U.S. military to increase the level of strikes against the Houthis, according to an Israeli source. U.S. forces conducted precision airstrikes against Houthi missile storage and command-and-control facilities in Sana’a on Saturday, according to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).
Two US Navy pilots were shot down overnight Saturday by friendly fire during the attack according to CENTCOM.
One of the pilots sustained minor injuries during the incident, which occurred over the Red Sea.
Israel told the international coalition that the Houthi attacks on Israel and shipping channels in the Red Sea destabilise regional security and that therefore “there is a need to escalate both Israeli strikes and those conducted by US Central Command,” according to Kan.
The Saudi channel Al-Arabiya reported on Saturday that senior Houthi officials have fled Sana’a for other regions of the country due to concern they will be targeted by Israel and the United States.