Houthi ballistic missile sets off air raid sirens in southern Israel

Air raid sirens were triggered on Tuesday evening when a ballistic missile was fired at Israel’s southern region from Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

The Israeli Defense Forces said it detected and intercepted the missile before it crossed into Israeli territory. 

The warning sirens went off in Beersheba, Merhav Am, Nevatim, and Revivim, as well as other locations in the Negev.

The attack comes amid Israel’s heaviest strike against Hamas targets in the Gaza strip early Tuesday morning, ending the ceasefire that began in January.

Hamas condemned what it called Israel’s “unprovoked escalation” and said it had put the fate of the hostages in jeopardy.

The IDF launched the strikes against Hamas after the terror group “rejected all offers it received from U.S. special envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff” to release Israeli hostages, the Prime Minister’s office said in a statement. 

Instead, Hamas has insisted on the original terms of the deal, which envisioned Israel fully withdrawing from Gaza and agreeing to permanently end the war in exchange for the release of the remaining living hostages.

Netanyahu, however, has long insisted that Israel will not end the war until Hamas’ governing and military capabilities have been eliminated.

IDF sources said the recent U.S. attacks on the Houthis have subdued the Yemen rebel group and prevented a larger scale attack against Israel from occurring.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said that any further attacks by the Houthis would be considered an attack by Iran and it would face “dire” consequences.

A U.S. report said that the Houthis fired 11 drones and one ballistic missile at the USS Harry S Truman aircraft carrier group in the Red Sea on Saturday, none of which came close to hitting any U.S. vessels.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump called the Houthis "sinister mobsters and thugs" saying their attacks "emanate from, and are created by, IRAN.

Trump described the U.S. strikes against the Houthis as "decisive and powerful military action" against an Iranian-backed group. The rebel group has been targeting Western-linked shipping and launching munitions into Israel since the fall of 2022. The Iran-backed group has supported Hamas since the beginning of the war on October 7th, 2023, firing more than 350 drones and missiles at Israel.

"They have waged an unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence, and terrorism against American, and other, ships, aircraft and drones," Trump posted on Truth Social on Saturday. "We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective."

Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency medical response group said it did not receive any calls about shrapnel impacts or casualties in the attack, “with the exception of isolated cases of panic victims.”

Following the attempted strike, Houthi official Hazam al-Asad tweeted in Hebrew, “The Yemeni people will not leave Gaza alone! The Zionists will pay for their crimes against children, women, and civilians.”