Ansarallah Launches Ballistic Missile at Tel Aviv, Drones Strike Haifa and Jaffa
Ansarallah’s latest operations signal a strategic escalation, combining missile and drone strikes with economic pressure on Israeli ports and air traffic.
Yahya Saree, the military spokesperson for Ansarallah, announced on Thursday that a ballistic missile had been launched toward Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.
He also confirmed the execution of a “double operation,” involving two drones targeting aerial sites in Tel Aviv and Haifa.
Following the missile launch from Yemen, Israel’s Home Front Command reported that air raid sirens were activated in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and the Dead Sea area.
The Israeli military claimed it had successfully intercepted the missile.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported that flights bound for Ben Gurion Airport were diverted. For its part, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that millions of Israelis rushed to shelters in response to the sirens.
Palestinian sources stated that fragments of Israeli interceptor missiles landed in the occupied West Bank, including one in the town of Shuyukh, north of Hebron (Al-Khalil).
Emergency services reported that one Israeli was injured while attempting to reach a shelter.
Last Monday, Saree also announced the start of operations to impose a naval blockade on the port of Haifa, in response to Israel’s ongoing aggression on Gaza. He urged companies using the port to take the announcement seriously.
He noted that this step follows the group’s success in enforcing a blockade on the port of Umm al-Rashrash (Eilat), effectively halting its operations.
According to Israeli Army Radio, 37 rockets have been launched from Yemen toward Israel since the war on Gaza resumed in March.
Military analyst Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi commented that Ansarallah’s announcement of an aerial blockade on occupied territory signals a shift toward a “retaliatory deterrence” strategy.
While Ansarallah may not inflict damage on the same scale as Israel’s attacks on Yemen, he said, the group is capable of forcing mass evacuations and disrupting air traffic.
Al-Duwairi added that by targeting multiple sites simultaneously, Ansarallah aims to strain and confuse Israeli air defense systems, leading to high financial and military costs.
He also suggested that Israel’s use of the Arrow system to intercept the latest missile could be a calculated move to avoid highlighting the shortcomings of the US-made THAAD system in confronting these evolving threats.
(PC, AJA)