Yemeni Jachnun Liberation Front Ballistic Missile Hits Israel - News Update

Houthis not amused by my title; just wait until they get a taste of my fiery homemade hilbe (Google it).

After a sleepless night, tell me this isn't happening on day 345 of this seven-front war:

Update: IDF confirms a Houthi-fired ground-to-ground ballistic missile struck Israel Israel at 06:32, Sunday morning.

Update - 09:20 IST:
”First reaction from the Houthi leader, Deputy Head of the Information Authority, Nasr al-Din Amar: ‘The air defense systems failed and the Yemeni missile arrived. The depth of the enemy has actually become completely exposed to the Houthis, first as UAVs and now missiles, and both arrived without interception. The future holds much, much more. Wait for the announcement.’”

The red pustules on the map of central Israel are NOT hits but rather PROJECTED areas it COULD'VE hit based on radar-extrapolated ballistic flight paths. Fired from Yemen, the flight path was not identified in time, according to the IDF, or soon enough to nail the incoming rocket while outside of Israeli airspace.

The incoming rocket had a 15-minute flight path from about 2,000 km away, and the IDF is investigating why it wasn't spotted and shot down - possibly by an exo-atmospheric Arrow missile, earlier.

The rocket - or at least part of it - slammed down in the Ben Shemen forest, according to the IDF:

Some initial reports wondered if it may have been a cruise missile, or some other a new rocket development by the Houthis, boasted about in recent days by the Iranian-backed terror proxy.

Amar threatened in a statement that "We are facing a long road of reactions from the Houthis and this is only the beginning,” according to GLZ Israel Army Radio's Ro'i Case.

Amar, according to Case, "emphasized that the missile launched from Yemen had a specific target, which he cannot reveal, and the military announcement that will be broadcast soon will not include an explanation of the type of target of the attack, but it will include other important details,” Case noted: ‘We do not usually reveal the type of target for tactical reasons, but without a doubt, we have a large, important and strategic bank of targets deep within the enemy and in the past the UAV reached an area that we did not expose but Israel understood what the target was and the Americans also understood what the target was and now they are also aware of the target of the attack,’” Amar said.

"The defense systems failed and the Yemeni missile arrived thanks to Allah. The depth of the enemy has become completely exposed to us. In the past the UAVs and now the missiles and all arrived without interception. The future holds many things. Wait for the announcement from the armed forces (of the Houthis).”

In a later statement, the terror group alleged that the rocket was of a new “hypersonic” design whose flight took 11.5 minutes to reach what the group claimed was a “military target” in the coastal “Jaffa region,” according GLZ military reporter, Doron Kadosh.

The rocket may have been “partially” hit by the Arrow missile according to the latest Army statements, although the rocket struck an open area near Moshav Kfar Daniel, close to the busy Tel Aviv - Jerusalem Hwy No.1. Sunday is the first day of the work week here, and traffic would be heavy at this hour. The device set off brush fires in the area.

In remarks at the outset of the weekly Cabinet session, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "We are in a multi-front campaign against Iran's axis of evil, which is striving for our destruction.

“This morning, the Houthis launched a surface-to-surface missile from Yemen at our territory. They should know that we exact a high price for any attempt to attack us.

“Whoever needs a reminder of this, is invited to visit the port of Hodeidah.

“Whoever attacks us will not evade our strike. Hamas is already learning this through our determined action, which will bring about its destruction and the release of all of our hostages.”

The rocket may have been “partially” hit by the Arrow missile according to the latest Army statements, although the rocket struck an open area near Moshav Kfar Daniel, close to the busy Tel Aviv - Jerusalem Hwy No.1. Sunday is the first day of the work week here, and traffic would be heavy at this hour. The device set off brush fires in the area.

It's also being reported that Iron Dome rockets were fired to destroy the approaching rocket and self-detonated after missing their intended target.

Debris from interceptors fell in the Modi'in train station, northwest of the capital (see photo). How’s that for a “Hi honey - how was your commute to work this morning?” phone call?

I'm probably not alone in wondering if there was more than one projectile.

Magen David Adom emergency services report that five people were injured running for shelter.

This, just by the way, has been our daily reality in northern Israel for almost a year, but with real deaths, injury, trauma, and 80k+ evacuated residents; Hezbollah in the 24 hours has fired some 60 rockets and exploding UAVs at Tzfat and nearby areas - thankfully with no direct physical injuries or damage. Trauma and PTSD is another story, however.

Magen David Adom emergency services report that five people were injured running for shelter.

...and, as I'm updating, several barrages of about 30 at areas across the Upper Galilee Panhandle, and Golan (see map). No initial reports of physical injuries or damage - but that could change: the day is young.

As northern residents have noted - bitterly - "...one missile fired at the center of the country and everyone goes nuts; almost a full year of nearly daily rocket and exploding UAVs in the north, and... crickets,” regarding the civilian sector. The IDF, however, has been consistently striking Hezbollah and other terror targets throughout Lebanon since the beginning of the war, and picking off over 400 field and staff leadership of the former and over 800 overall, with pinpoint drone and rocket strikes and other means.

Netanyahu, in his comments also related to the precarious situation:

”I am attentive to the residents of the north. I speak with them and with the heads of local authorities in the north, I see their distress. I hear their anguish.

“The current situation will not continue. This requires a change in the balance of forces on our northern border. We will do whatever is necessary to return our residents securely to their homes.

“I am committed to this. The Government is committed to this and we will not suffice with less than this."

Update: as noted by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center:

Since the beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, the participation of the Houthis in the “resistance axis”^[2] has been limited to direct UAV and missile attacks on Israeli targets, especially in the south of the country. The most significant was the Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv on July 19, 2024, to which Israel responded with an Israeli Air Force attack on the Yemeni port in the city of al-Hudaydah the following day.

• In recent weeks, the Houthis have increased their overt threats to attack Israel, including ground attacks. They also held military exercises simulating infiltrating through tunnels, taking control of Israeli military bases and abducting soldiers. According to reports, Houthi fighters have arrived in Syria and are overseen by the pro-Iranian militias.

• In ITIC assessment, the Houthis do in fact aspire to carry out a ground attack, partially as a response to Israel’s attack on al-Hudaydah. Collaboration with Iran and the other “resistance axis” partners, led by the militias in Iraq and Hezbollah in Lebanon, enables the Houthis to overcome the great geographical distance between Yemen and Israel and move fighters close to the Israeli border for a limited direct ground attack on Israeli territory. They may try to infiltrate an Israeli civilian community or a military base, as they did in the simulations in Yemen, or participate actively as a Hezbollah auxiliary force should there be significant escalation in the fighting in the north. They would also continue their attempts to attack targets in Israeli territory with missiles or drones, as they have done since the beginning of the war.

We'll update this report as more details come in. Meanwhile, Here’s analyst Seth Frantzman’s overall spot take (“gird your loins,” as it is written, because it ain’t pretty):

"Another massive escalation this morning as a missile apparently fired from Yemen (early reports suggested Iraq) caused sirens throughout central Israel. This would be the longest range ever achieved by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen. This joins other major reversions by Iran-backed groups since October 7, which have led to a huge multi-front war against Israel. The war in Gaza continues and Hamas continues to control most of Gaza. Israel is facing a rising terror threat in the West Bank which has caused an unprecedented operation there over the last month; Hezbollah is firing 100 rockets a day at Israeli and 60,000 Israelis remain evacuated to a year from the north; the Houthis have targeted Tel Aviv with drones and missiles, Iraqi militias launch drones and Iran attacked Israel in April.

"Overall this multi-front threat is now the new norm and Israel is subjected to unpredented attacks never seen in its history for such a long term. For instance the Scud threat in 1991 ended after the war ended. The threat in 1967 largely ended when the war ended. Israel faced major threats in the past on different fronts but not this kind of long term war threat on all fronts in places so close to the heart of Israel."