Israel Says It Intercepted Missile Launched from Yemen

Missiles are fired into the sky, said to be, for an operation against the Yemen's Houthis at an unidentified location in this screengrab taken from a handout video released on March 18, 2025. US CENTCOM via X/Handout via REUTERS
Missiles are fired into the sky, said to be, for an operation against the Yemen's Houthis at an unidentified location in this screengrab taken from a handout video released on March 18, 2025. US CENTCOM via X/Handout via REUTERS
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Israel Says It Intercepted Missile Launched from Yemen

Missiles are fired into the sky, said to be, for an operation against the Yemen's Houthis at an unidentified location in this screengrab taken from a handout video released on March 18, 2025. US CENTCOM via X/Handout via REUTERS
Missiles are fired into the sky, said to be, for an operation against the Yemen's Houthis at an unidentified location in this screengrab taken from a handout video released on March 18, 2025. US CENTCOM via X/Handout via REUTERS

Israel's military said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen early on Thursday as hostilities with Iran-backed Houthi militants intensified.

Sirens sounded in several areas in Israel after the projectile was fired, the military said. The Israeli police said sirens were heard in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Reuters reported.

Israel's ambulance service said no serious injuries were reported.

Yemen's Houthi militants, who have yet to claim responsibility for the missile strike, appeared unfazed by the waves of US strikes carried out since Saturday and have vowed to escalate their attacks, including those targeting Israel, in response to the US campaign.

"A missile launched from Yemen was intercepted by the IAF prior to crossing into Israeli territory. Sirens were sounded in accordance with protocol," the Israeli military said in a statement, referring to its air force.

US strikes which began on Saturday over the Houthis' attacks against Red Sea shipping are the biggest US military operation in the Middle East since President Donald Trump took office in January. The US attacks have killed at least 31 people.

Trump also threatened to hold Iran accountable for any future Houthi attacks, warning of severe consequences. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said the Houthis were independent and took their own strategic and operational decisions.

On Tuesday, the Houthis said they had fired a ballistic missile towards Israel and would expand their range of targets in that country in coming days in retaliation for renewed Israeli airstrikes in Gaza after weeks of relative calm.

The Houthis have carried out over 100 attacks on shipping since Israel's war with Hamas began in late 2023, saying they were acting in solidarity with Gaza's Palestinians.

The attacks have disrupted global commerce and prompted the US military to launch a costly campaign to intercept missiles.

The Houthis are part of what has been called the "Axis of Resistance" - an anti-Israel and anti-Western alliance of regional militias including Hamas, Lebanon's Hezbollah and armed groups in Iraq, all backed by Iran.



Israel Flouting International Law with Forced Evacuations in Gaza, UN Says

Palestinians waiting in queue to receive bags of flour and other humanitarian aid distributed by UNRWA, the UN agency helping Palestinian refugees in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians waiting in queue to receive bags of flour and other humanitarian aid distributed by UNRWA, the UN agency helping Palestinian refugees in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP)
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Israel Flouting International Law with Forced Evacuations in Gaza, UN Says

Palestinians waiting in queue to receive bags of flour and other humanitarian aid distributed by UNRWA, the UN agency helping Palestinian refugees in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians waiting in queue to receive bags of flour and other humanitarian aid distributed by UNRWA, the UN agency helping Palestinian refugees in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP)

The UN Human Rights office accused Israel on Friday of violating international law by forcibly displacing Palestinians in Gaza under "mandatory evacuation orders".

The Israeli army has issued what the UN describes as 10 mandatory evacuation orders, covering large areas across Gaza, since it resumed its war against Hamas on March 18, breaking a two-month-old ceasefire amid rows over terms for extending it.

"These evacuations fail to comply with the requirements of international humanitarian law," UN human rights spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said in a statement on Friday.

Israel's mission to the UN in Geneva did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israel has previously denied violating humanitarian law in Gaza, blaming Hamas fighters for harm to civilians by operating among them. Hamas denies this.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister have been indicted alongside Hamas leaders by the International Criminal Court in The Hague on war crimes charges, which Israel rejects.

"Israel is not taking any measures to provide accommodation for the evacuated population, nor ensure that these evacuations are conducted in satisfactory conditions of hygiene, health, safety and nutrition," Al-Kheetan's statement added.

Over half of northern Gaza appears to be under such orders, it said, while those who have been newly displaced from the south of the enclave in the Rafah area and forced to go to coastal Al Mawasi were not guaranteed safety there.

"We are deeply concerned about the shrinking space for civilians in Gaza who are being forcibly displaced by the Israeli army from large swathes of territory," it added.

Since Israeli airstrikes resumed on March 18, at least 855 Palestinians have been killed and 1,869 injured, according to the UN, which cited figures from the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.