Israel resumed its attack on Hamas on March 18 as cease-fire negotiations broke down, while the United States has stepped up pressure on Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
Air raid sirens sounded on March 20 over much of Israel, as Yemen’s Houthis launched a ballistic missile and Hamas in Gaza fired several rockets into the Jewish state.
The Israeli Air Force intercepted the Houthi missile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
Air raid sirens and explosions were heard in Jerusalem.
The Houthis said they fired “a hypersonic ballistic missile” at Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport.
The missile attack disrupted air traffic, with several flights briefly delayed.
It was the second such attack since the United States began a new series of strikes against the Houthi rebels earlier this week, to protect commercial and naval ships.
Related Stories
The Israeli Air Force intercepted one of the Hamas missiles. Two others fell in open areas in the Tel Aviv metro area and central Israel between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, the IDF said.
Israel’s ambulance service, Magen David Adom, said no serious injuries were reported. It acknowledged some injuries occurred as people ran to take shelter, according to Israel’s I24 television.
According to the Times of Israel, 13 people were injured, three suffered anxiety attacks, and millions of people headed to shelters.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who took shelter in the Knesset building, told Israel’s Channel 14 television, “The Houthis are already paying the price, and they will pay more.”
A fragment from a Hamas rocket was found in the city of Rishon Letzion, according to Ha’aretz.
The Hamas attacks came in response to renewed Israeli strikes on Hamas with the breakdown of the cease-fire and hostage-release process that had been in place since Jan. 19.
Israel began air strikes on March 18 and initiated some ground attacks the following day.
The IDF targeted top officials of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad and said several had been eliminated.
The cease-fire breakdown marked a resumption of the war that began with Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, in which 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were massacred.
Terrorists wounded thousands of others and took 251 people hostage.
They still hold an estimated 24 living hostages and the bodies of 35 more.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
