Israel military intercepts Huthi missile fired from Yemen; Gaza civil defence says Israel strikes kill 30

Israel military intercepts Huthi missile fired from Yemen; Gaza civil defence says Israel strikes kill 30
by AFP Staff Writers
Jerusalem (AFP) July 29, 2025

Sirens sounded in several Israeli cities, including Jerusalem, on Tuesday as the military said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen, with Huthi rebels later claiming the attack.

"Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel, a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted by the Israeli air force", the military said in a statement.

The Huthis later claimed the attack, saying they had fired a missile at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv.

Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels have launched repeated missile and drone attacks against Israel since their Palestinian ally Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel sparked the Gaza war.

The Huthis, who say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians, paused their attacks during a two-month ceasefire in Gaza that ended in March, but renewed them after Israel resumed major operations.

Israel has carried out several retaliatory strikes in Yemen, targeting Huthi-held ports and the airport in the rebel-held capital Sanaa.

Gaza civil defence says Israel strikes kill 30
Gaza City, Palestinian Territories (AFP) July 29, 2025 - Gaza's civil defence agency said Tuesday that Israeli air strikes killed at least 30 Palestinians, including women and children, in the central Nuseirat district.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said the strikes were carried out overnight and into the morning and "targeted a number of citizens' homes" in Nuseirat refugee camp.

The camp's Al-Awda Hospital said it had received "the bodies of 30 martyrs, including 14 women and 12 children".

The Israeli military said it had "struck several terror targets in the central Gaza Strip", but that the number of reported casualties "does not align with the information held by the (military)".

The Al-Awda Hospital later reported that 13 people had been killed by Israeli gunfire while waiting near an aid distribution point on Gaza's main north-south route, Salah al-Din Road.

The Israeli military said it was "not aware of casualties as a result of (army) fire adjacent to the distribution site in the central Gaza Strip".

The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said the overall death toll from Israel's military campaign in Gaza had now reached 60,034, the majority of them civilians.

The war was sparked by Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, the majority civilians, based on an AFP tally of official figures.

At the weekend, under international pressure to head off the territory's slide into famine, Israel declared a series of "tactical pauses" to allow aid deliveries.

According to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, the pause in military operations covers "key populated areas" between 10 am (0700 GMT) and 8 pm every day.

Designated aid convoy routes will be secure from 6 am to 11 pm, Netanyahu's office said.

During the night, however, strikes continue.