Yemen: The Yemeni Armed Forces have escalated the fifth phase of operations supporting Gaza to unprecedented levels, creating shockwaves and widespread despair within the Israeli entity.

The series of strikes began Wednesday evening and included an additional attack on occupied Jaffa (Tel Aviv). This time, the strike was meticulously documented, exposing the total failure of Israeli defense systems and eliciting official admissions of incompetence in confronting the Yemeni front. The operations aim to pressure the occupation into ceasing its crimes in Gaza and agreeing to a prisoner exchange deal, a proposal recently supported by the Palestinian resistance.

The latest strike, announced by Yemeni Armed Forces spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Sare'e on Saturday morning, targeted a "military site in occupied Jaffa with a Palestine-2 hypersonic ballistic missile." Sare'e confirmed that "the missile accurately hit its target, with Israeli defense systems failing to intercept it." This claim was corroborated by videos released by Israeli media and settlers, capturing the missile's rapid and unimpeded trajectory to its target despite attempted interceptions.

Reports indicated that the interception efforts utilized Israel's most advanced systems, including the Arrow (Hetz) missile defense system, which costs over $3 million per missile, alongside other multi-layered systems deployed across the Red Sea and surrounding regions. These include defenses from the US carrier group led by the USS Harry S. Truman.

Israeli military radio broadcasted footage of the failed interception attempts, acknowledging that two intercepting missiles headed toward the "Houthi" missile and appeared to destroy themselves mid-air. The missile struck Jaffa immediately afterward.

Further details from Israeli media revealed that three intercepting missiles from two defense systems failed to neutralize the target. Initial investigations showed that the Arrow system's missile failed first, followed by two failed attempts from the Iron Dome.

Additionally, there was a documented failure in the early warning systems meant to alert residents, as noted by Ynet, affiliated with Yedioth Ahronoth. A resident near the impact site stated: "The explosion occurred before the sirens sounded. I couldn’t make it to the shelter. The house shook, windows shattered—it was terrifying." Another resident credited his cat with saving his life, recounting: "The blast happened just after I got up to take care of the cat. The glass would have shattered over me if I hadn’t moved."

The Palestine-2 missile's advanced technology has now been confirmed capable of penetrating Israel's multi-layered defenses. Reports from Israeli media indicated that about 30 settlers were injured in the attack, exacerbating fears among the population over the collapse of security protocols, including missile interception, early warning systems, and evacuation measures.

This evolving reality represents a seismic shift for the Israeli entity, as the repeated failure of its defense systems leaves it vulnerable to a new strategic threat. Yemeni missiles have not only proven capable of breaching Israeli defenses but have also inflicted severe economic and strategic damage over the past year.

Yedioth Ahronoth highlighted the severity of the situation, stating that "the failures in interception revealed serious breaches in multiple layers of Israel’s air defense systems." This sentiment was echoed by Maariv, which declared: "Israel doesn’t know how to handle Yemen." The publication added that Israel’s intelligence and military responses have been inadequate, with recent airstrikes on Yemen described as "PR displays with little strategic impact."

The ongoing Yemeni strikes underline the growing challenges faced by Israel. The situation puts immense pressure on Tel Aviv to halt its aggression in Gaza and meet the demands for lifting the siege, as the costs of sustaining this level of escalation could result in significant security, economic, and strategic collapses.

Translated by Almasirah English website