Israel Says Houthi Missile Lands in Tel Aviv Area, 16 Lightly Injured

21 December 2024, Israel, Tel Aviv: Israeli emergency responders inspect the damage at the site where a projectile fired from Yemen landed in Tel Aviv early Saturday. Photo: Ilia Yefimovich/dpa
21 December 2024, Israel, Tel Aviv: Israeli emergency responders inspect the damage at the site where a projectile fired from Yemen landed in Tel Aviv early Saturday. Photo: Ilia Yefimovich/dpa
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Israel Says Houthi Missile Lands in Tel Aviv Area, 16 Lightly Injured

21 December 2024, Israel, Tel Aviv: Israeli emergency responders inspect the damage at the site where a projectile fired from Yemen landed in Tel Aviv early Saturday. Photo: Ilia Yefimovich/dpa
21 December 2024, Israel, Tel Aviv: Israeli emergency responders inspect the damage at the site where a projectile fired from Yemen landed in Tel Aviv early Saturday. Photo: Ilia Yefimovich/dpa

The Israeli military said it failed to intercept a missile from Yemen early on Saturday that fell in the Tel Aviv-Jaffa area, and the ambulance service said 16 people received mild injuries.

A spokesperson for the Iran-backed Houthi militias said they had hit a "military target" in the Jaffa area with a ballistic missile.

Paramedics were treating 16 people with minor shrapnel injuries and some were taken to hospital, the ambulance service said in a statement.

The Israeli police reported receiving reports of a fallen missile in a town in the Tel Aviv area.

The Houthis have repeatedly fired drones and missiles towards Israel in what they describe as acts of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

On Thursday, Israel launched strikes against ports and energy infrastructure in Houthi-held parts of Yemen and threatened more attacks against the militias.



Trump Says He Might Demand Panama Hand over Canal

This handout picture released by the Panama Canal Authority on August 30, 2024, shows the container ship MSC Marie, of 366 meters long and 51 meters wide, transiting the Panama Canal in Panama. (Handout / Panama Canal Authority / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Panama Canal Authority on August 30, 2024, shows the container ship MSC Marie, of 366 meters long and 51 meters wide, transiting the Panama Canal in Panama. (Handout / Panama Canal Authority / AFP)
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Trump Says He Might Demand Panama Hand over Canal

This handout picture released by the Panama Canal Authority on August 30, 2024, shows the container ship MSC Marie, of 366 meters long and 51 meters wide, transiting the Panama Canal in Panama. (Handout / Panama Canal Authority / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Panama Canal Authority on August 30, 2024, shows the container ship MSC Marie, of 366 meters long and 51 meters wide, transiting the Panama Canal in Panama. (Handout / Panama Canal Authority / AFP)

President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday accused Panama of charging excessive rates for use of the Panama Canal and said that if Panama did not manage the canal in an acceptable fashion, he would demand the US ally hand it over.

In an evening post on Truth Social, Trump also warned he would not let the canal fall into the "wrong hands," and he seemed to warn of potential Chinese influence on the passage, writing the canal should not be managed by China.

The post was an exceedingly rare example of a US leader saying he could push a sovereign country to hand over territory. It also underlines an expected shift in US diplomacy under Trump, who has not historically shied away from threatening allies and using bellicose rhetoric when dealing with counterparts.

The United States largely built the canal and administrated territory surrounding the passage for decades. But the US government fully handed control of the canal to Panama in 1999 after a period of joint administration.

"The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, especially knowing the extraordinary generosity that has been bestowed to Panama by the US," Trump wrote in his Truth Social post.

"It was not given for the benefit of others, but merely as a token of cooperation with us and Panama. If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question."

The Panamanian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.