Israeli army says intercepts cruise missile fired at south of country

JERUSALEM (AFP) : The Israeli military on Wednesday said it intercepted a cruise missile fired toward the south of the country.

After reports of “an infiltration by a hostile aircraft” near the southern Red Sea resort of Eilat, an Israeli fighter jet “successfully intercepted a cruise missile that was launched toward Israel,” it said in a statement.

“No infiltration into Israeli territory was identified,” the military added.

It comes after Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Sunday seized an Israel-linked cargo vessel, having threatened to target Israeli shipping over the Israel-Hamas war.

The Houthis, declaring themselves part of the “axis of resistance” of Iran’s allies and proxies, have launched a series of drones and missiles toward Israel.

They said their capture of the Galaxy Leader ship was in retaliation for Israel’s war against Hamas, sparked by the October 7 attack by the Palestinian militants who killed 1,200 people and took around 240 hostages, according to Israeli officials.

More than 14,000 people have since been killed in Israel’s aerial bombardment and ground operations in the Gaza Strip, according to the territory’s Hamas-run government.