Less than two days after a ballistic missile entering Israeli air space woke citizens throughout central Israel early in the morning, the Houthis in Yemen released footage of the launch of the missile that disintegrated in the air on Sunday morning and may have been partially intercepted by Israel's missile defense systems.
Houthis release footage of missile launched at Israel
The Houthis said that the missile launched was called "Palestine 2." In a closeup of the actual missile shown on the video, the nose of the rocket is painted white with black markings to resemble a kefiyeh, and it is decorated with several red, green, black and white Palestinian flags.
The missile’s path was a direct line from Yemen to Israel and, according to the IDF, it was launched from the northern coastal sector of Yemen.
According to the IDF the missile was immediately tracked by the Arrow missile defense system’s radar and was hit by an interceptor and fragmented in the air. Parts of it landed into an open area close to the central Israeli city of Lod, where a crater was formed. Missile pieces landed in fields and near a railway station. There were no direct casualties but nine people were lightly hurt while seeking cover.
Boaz Shapira, a researcher at the Alma Center, says that this missile is a known entity - the Iranian Kheibar missile. According to him, it was previously presented under the names Hatem and Palestine and it can fly at a speed of up to Mach 16.
The Houthis also claimed that "it possesses high ability to maneuver beyond the world's newest and most powerful air defense systems, including the Iron Dome" – claims that have no corroboration.
The Israeli Air Force has dismissed the Houthis' claim that they fired a hypersonic missile. "To our knowledge, our enemies do not possess a hypersonic missile," it said on Sunday evening.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would exact a "heavy price" on the Houthis, though the scale and timing of the response remain unclear. The prevailing assessment in Israel is that there will eventually be some form of response, although since no serious damage or injury was caused, it may be measured.
On Monday, Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar said the Houthi attack on Sunday had "sent a message" to Israel, in a letter sent to Yemen's Houthis' leader Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, the Houthis' Al-Massirah TV reported.
Last June, the Houthis announced an "attack on an Israeli military target in Eilat using a Palestine ballistic missile." They noted at the time that this was his first exposure. Now it is Palestine 2 - apparently a "new missile"