Sixteen people were lightly wounded by glass shards early on Saturday morning after a rocket fired from Yemen slammed into Jaffa. Prior to the impact, sirens sounded across the center of the country at 3:50 a.m.

Magen David Adom also treated 14 others who sustained minor injuries as they made their way to protected areas. The ambulance service additionally treated another seven who suffered from anxiety.

MDA personnel at the scene of a rocket strike on the Tel Aviv area. December 21, 2024. (credit: MDA Operational Unit)
MDA personnel at the scene of a rocket strike on the Tel Aviv area. December 21, 2024. (credit: MDA Operational Unit)
MDA said that ambulances, mobile intensive care units, and medicycle EMTs were dispatched to the scene and that the wounded, all of whom were in stable condition, were evacuated to Wolfson Medical Center in Holon and Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv.

“The scene was complex as the blast impact affected apartments in the nearby buildings,” MDA paramedic Noam Weisbuch and senior EMT Noa Shimony stated.

The scene of a rocket strike on the Tel Aviv area. December 21, 2024. (credit: MDA Operational Unit)
The scene of a rocket strike on the Tel Aviv area. December 21, 2024. (credit: MDA Operational Unit)
“Initially, several mildly injured patients from glass shards and people suffering from anxiety arrived. We conducted searches in the apartments, treated and evacuated 16 lightly injured individuals from the scene, including a three-year-old girl, and also treated those affected by anxiety.”

Most of the wounded were discharged later on Saturday morning after their condition was assessed and care provided, Maariv reported.

Houthis claim responsibility

Houthi spokesperson Yahya Qasim Sare’e said the Iranian-backed Yemeni terror organization had conducted the attack. The Houthis claimed to have targeted an IDF military target with a hypersonic ballistic missile.

Sare’e stated the operation was part of the “promised conquest and the holy jihad.” The spokesperson added that it was also part of the group’s retaliation for Israeli military activity against Yemen.

“The missile force of the Yemeni Armed Forces targeted a military target of the Israeli enemy in the occupied area of Jaffa with a hypersonic ballistic missile, Type Palestine 2,” Sare’e claimed in an English-language statement. “The missile struck its target accurately and the defense and interception system failed to intercept it.”

Hamas praised the attack in a statement on its Telegram channel on Saturday.

“The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, highly values the genuine stance of our brothers in Ansar Allah [the Houthis] in brotherly Yemen, as they continue to support our Palestinian people and champion their just cause. We in Hamas reaffirm the strong and solid relationship that binds the Palestinian and Yemeni peoples,” the Hamas statement said.

Security forces, police investigating 

The Israel Air Force is reportedly investigating the failure to intercept the missile, with reports indicating that there was a failure to intercept it both above and below the atmosphere, KAN said.

KAN noted that after the missile from Yemen was identified and alerts activated, interceptors were launched to the upper atmospheric layer but missed the target just outside of Israel’s borders. As such, interceptors were launched toward the lower atmospheric layer, which also failed in intercepting the missile.

The scene of a rocket strike on the Tel Aviv area. December 21, 2024. (Credit: MDA Operational Unit)

Walla reported that missile remnants have been collected and are being examined by experts to identify its type.

According to Walla, the ballistic missile launched by the Houthis is large, heavy, and fast, and it requires an equally large and fast Arrow interceptor to counter it. The Arrow system uses its radar to detect the target and locks on using an infrared sensor that identifies it by its heat signature during the final phase of the interception.

However, destroying the warhead does not prevent all damage. In some cases, the interception is incomplete, and the missile is only damaged and deflected from its path. Remnants of a ballistic missile may be heavy and fall to the ground at fast speed, causing significant damage upon impact, Walla noted.

IDF Home Front Command personnel at the scene of a Houthi rocket strike in the Tel Aviv area. December 21, 2024. (Credit: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
The Israel Police said in a statement that it received multiple reports "regarding the fall of weapon fragments in one of the communities in the Tel Aviv District.
Israeli Home Front Command personnel at the scene in the Tel Aviv area where a rocket launched from Yemen struck. December 21, 2024. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)
Israeli Home Front Command personnel at the scene in the Tel Aviv area where a rocket launched from Yemen struck. December 21, 2024. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)
"At this stage, no injuries have been reported, but property damage has occurred."

Bomb squad isolated the impact sites

This is a developing story.