A ballistic missile fired from Israel by the Houthi group supported by Iran in Yemen sparked the north of the country for the first time on Wednesday morning, sending more than a million people rushing to safety for bomb shelters.
Israeli defense forces said the missile was successfully intercepted by the air defenses.
The sirens seemed to be a precaution against the fall of missiles and interceptors, which caused injuries and even death in the past.
The sirens left at 4 am in Haifa and the surrounding area, as well as in the western region of Galilee. Interception explosions were heard in Haifa and the Sharon region.
The Houthis later claimed to have shot the missile on a “vital Zionist enemy target” in Haifa. They also claimed to have launched a drone on a target in the region of Tel Aviv, although there was no report of drones reaching Israel of Yemen during the night.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service has not reported any direct injury to the missile or debris impact, but said that paramedical paramedics have treated a number of people injured during their rescue for a shelter.
Israel police said the police were ready to look for debris that has broken down if necessary in their emergency call center. Police have warned the public not to approach debris because they can contain explosives.
The army recently deployed a new system to alert civilian missile attacks via push notification on their phone, 3-5 minutes before the Sirores. It was used in the attack early in the morning, although the early alert was received very shortly before the sirens did it.
The FDI recognized that there had been delays in the emission of the early alert, saying that there was no problem detecting the missile, but a “dysfunction occurred during the transmission of information” of the Israeli Air Force to the command of the inner front.
“The problem was resolved, but the information was partially transmitted and with a delay,” said the army.
“Consequently, the preliminary guidelines were activated at shorter intervals than necessary,” added the FDI.
A large piece of a missile fallen into the center of Israel following the interception of a ballistic missile pulled by the Yemen Houthis on March 30, 2025 (Israeli police)
The new system was used for the first time Friday morning during the last attack by the Houthi supported by Iran. This assault sparked sirens in the center of Israel, including parts of Jerusalem. The IDF also intercepted this missile.
At the time, some Israelis said they had not received early alert. The FDI acknowledged that the early alert system did not work properly in certain areas, which made civil civilians receive the notification.
Since March 18, when the FDI have resumed its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis in Yemen have launched more than 20 ballistic missiles and several drones in Israel. Only half of the missiles sparked sirens in the country and were slaughtered, while the others failed.
The attack on Wednesday was the first time that the sirens have been tested in the Haifa region since a ceasefire with the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah entered into force in November, finishing more than a year of fighting, which began one day after the terrorist group supported by Iran, Hamas took the southern Israel to kill 1,200 people and war in Gaza.
The Houthis – whose slogan is “Death To America, Death To Israel, a curse on the Jews” – began to attack Israel and sea traffic in November 2023, a month after the attack on October 7.
The Houthis held their fire when a cease-fire was reached between Israel and Hamas in January 2025. At that time, they had drawn around forty ballistic missiles and several attack drones in Israel, including one who killed a civilian and injured several others in Tel Aviv in July. Israel has made several strikes on Houthi sites in Yemen in response to attacks.
Gaza’s cease-fire collapsed in March, Israel taking over his attacks on Hamas and the Houthis taking over their missile attacks in Israel.
In recent weeks, the United States has led the accusation against the Houthis, with a series of massive air strikes against its leaders and infrastructure.
Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas and Houthis are all confessed to destroy Israel.
