The Israeli Air Force downed a Houthi missile that triggered air-raid sirens in the Haifa area and northern Samaria on Friday morning.

“Following the alerts that were activated a short time ago in several areas across the country, one missile launched from Yemen was intercepted,” the Israeli military said in a post on X.

The IDF noted that the missile was intercepted before it crossed into the territory of the Jewish state and that “sirens were activated per policy.”

Alerts were triggered in Haifa and its bayside suburbs, the Binyamina and Gilboa regions, and several Jewish communities in northern Samaria. Sirens also sounded in Acre, the Carmel region and across the Galilee.

Houthi terrorist took responsibility for the attack, claiming they had targeted an IDF base in the Haifa area with a ballistic missile.

The Magen David Adom medical emergency response group said it received no reports on injuries from the latest Houthi assault, except for one person injured while running to a bomb shelter.

The Megiddo Regional Council said that missile fragments penetrated the roof of a kindergarten in Kibbutz Mishmar HaEmek. The nursery was closed at the time of the attack.

On April 27, the IDF intercepted a Houthi ballistic missile launched from Yemen targeting the Arava Desert and northern Dead Sea areas.

The missile was intercepted before crossing into Israeli airspace. Sirens were sounded in accordance with protocol and no injuries were reported.

That same day, the IDF intercepted an attack drone launched at the Jewish state “from the east,” a phrase the military typically uses in reference to attacks originating from Yemen or Iraq.

The previous day, the IDF had also downed a missile before it entered Israeli airspace. That attack from Yemen triggered sirens across the country’s south. There were no reports of significant injuries or damage.

The IDF also intercepted a drone launched from the east that day. In accordance with protocol, no sirens were sounded, the military said.

On April 23, a missile from Yemen triggered sirens in northern Israel.

“An interceptor was launched toward the missile, and the missile was most likely successfully intercepted,” the IDF stated. Several people were treated for minor injuries sustained while running to shelter.

The Houthis, an Iranian-backed terrorist organization based in Yemen, have intensified attacks on Israel since October 2023, following the onset of the war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas in Gaza.

The group, officially known as Ansar Allah, receives military and financial support from Tehran and was redesignated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the United States in January.

The escalation began after Hamas carried out the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in the northwestern Negev, murdering some 1,200 people and kidnapping 251. That cross-border attack sparked a broader regional conflict involving Iran-aligned groups, including the Houthis and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Image - Israelis run for shelter during a rocket alert in Ashkelon, Aug. 6, 2022. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90