Israeli fighter jet intercepts cruise missiles fired towards the south of the country

The Israeli military said today it had intercepted a cruise missile that had been fired towards the south of the country.

Following reports of “an infiltration by an enemy aircraft” near the southern Red Sea resort of Eilat, an Israeli warplane successfully intercepted a cruise missile fired at Israel,’ an IDF statement said.

“No incursion into Israeli territory was detected,” it said.

Eilat has previously been attacked by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. The group has declared itself the “Axis of Resistance” of Iran’s allies and allies, and its leader has vowed to continue to stop attacks on Jewish people.

Iranian-backed armed groups across the Middle East are involved in the war unleashed by the terror group Hamas and the October 7 attack on southern Israel in which gunmen killed about 1,200 people.

According to the Hamas government, Israel has responded with an intense air and ground war that has leveled large parts of the Gaza Strip and claimed more than 14,000 lives, while Gaza’s 2.4 million residents are under heavy siege .

Lebanon’s Hezbollah fought daily firefights with Israel along the border, and Houthi rebels fired drones and rockets at Israel.

On October 20, a US Navy ship in the Red Sea shot down three Houthi missiles and several drones, which the Pentagon said were likely aimed at Israel.

And on Nov. 9, the Israeli military said its Arrow 3 missile defense system destroyed a “target” moving toward Israel from the Red Sea for the first time.

It came shortly after Houthi rebels confirmed they had fired “a barrage of ballistic missiles” into southern Israel.

And on Sunday, rebels said they hijacked the Galaxy Leader, an Israeli-affiliated cargo ship, in retaliation for Israel’s war in Gaza.

Such attacks have raised fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East.

There was no immediate confirmation that today’s attack came from Yemen, which is about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) from Israel and separated by Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

The Houthis released dramatic footage (photo) on Monday showing heavily armed men falling from a helicopter and hijacking the cargo ship in the southern Red Sea.

However, the two countries are connected via the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba, with a major shipping route running from Eilat to the Arabian Sea via Yemen.

The Houthi rebels said their hijacking of the Galaxy Leader ship in the Red Sea last weekend was in retaliation for Israel’s war against Hamas.

News of the interception came as a ceasefire agreement between the terror group Hamas and Israel was confirmed by both sides.

The first ceasefire in a brutal seven-week war will last at least four days, allow aid to enter Gaza and allow the terror group to capture at least 50 hostages on October 7 in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners.