A US warship on Thursday intercepted three missiles fired from Yemen. The missiles were headed north, US officials said. It wasn't sure if the missiles were headed towards Israel, AP reported. According to officials, the USS Carney, a Navy destroyer on the Red Sea intercepted the missiles.
Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, told Israel Times that the three land attack cruise missiles and several drones, that were launched by Houthi forces in Yemen were shot down over the water.
“We cannot say for certain what these missiles and drones were targeting, but they were launched from Yemen heading north along the Red Sea, potentially toward targets in Israel,” Ryder said. Ryder said, according to the base profile of the missiles, they “posed a potential threat”. He added that the US is willing to do anything to protect its partners and their interests in this important region.
Last week, Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, the rebel group's leader, warned the United States against intervening in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, threatening that his forces would retaliate by firing drones and missiles, AP reported.
Last week, supporters of the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Sanaa were waving Yemeni and Palestinian flags.
In the meantime, senior Israeli officers, on Thursday, talked up the possibility of a large-scale ground offensive against the Hamas terror group. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant indicated that the order for troops near Gaza to enter the Hamas-run Palestinian enclave would come “soon.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Golani soldiers near the Gaza border and told them Israel was on its way to victory.