Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) has claimed that its air defence system intercepted a surface-to-surface ballistic missile launched at central Israel from Yemen on Saturday evening. Interestingly, the missile was reportedly targetting Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plane as it was about to land at Ben Gurion airport,
The leader of Yemen-based Houthis claimed the missile was aimed and timed to coincide with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s landing in Israel after returning from New York. The missile was fired soon after Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi vowed that the death of Nasrallah "will not be in vain" and the "resistance won't be in vain" in response to the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an IDF airstrike in Beirut on Friday.
Netanyahu's plane 'Wing of Zion' landed in Israel some 35 minutes before the missile triggered sirens. According to the IDF, though the missile was shot down outside the country's borders by the Arrow long-range missile defence system, its remains fell inside the country's borders causing the sirens to sound in Central Israel.
Meanwhile, dozens of Israeli planes rained havoc on power plants used by the Houthis in western Yemen to retaliate to the ballistic missile attacks on Israel. Houthi-run health ministry claimed at least four people were killed and 29 wounded in airstrikes on Yemen's port of Hodeidah.
The IDF fighters struck targets in Lebanon, Gaza Strip, and allegedly in Syria on Sunday in a multifront war.
An IDF statement that "over the past year, the Houthis have been operating under the direction and funding of Iran, and in cooperation with Iraqi militias in order to attack the State of Israel, undermine regional stability, and disrupt global freedom of navigation."
Israel on Sunday vowed to keep up its assault with IDF military chief of staff Herzi Halevi stating it would keep hitting Hezbollah hard. More drones were sent to Beirut and reports emerged that it hit an apartment building in Beirut, killing two residents.
Official sources in Lebanon claimed that over 1,000 people have been killed and over 6,000 wounded in the past two weeks. It added that a million people - a fifth of the population - have fled their homes.