Israel army says intercepted missile launched from Yemen

JERUSALEM

Houthi supporters carry a mock rocket and chant slogans during an anti-Israel rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024

Israel's military said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen after it crossed into Israeli territory early Friday.

"A missile that was launched from Yemen and crossed into Israeli territory was intercepted," the military said in a statement posted to its Telegram channel.

"A report was received regarding shrapnel from the interception that fell in the area of Modi'in in central Israel. The details are under review."

Israel's emergency service provider, Magen David Adom, reported that it had treated several people who were injured or experienced panic attacks on their way to shelters after air raid sirens sounded in the centre and south of the country.

On Tuesday, Israel also said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen.

The Iran-backed houthis control much of war-torn Yemen and have been firing missiles and drones at Israel, and at ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

The houthis have stepped up their attacks since November's ceasefire between Israel and another Iran-backed group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Israel has also struck Yemen, including targeting Sanaa's international airport at the end of December.

Israel strikes Syrian army positions near Aleppo

In another front, Israel bombed Syrian army positions south of Aleppo on Thursday, the latest such strikes since the overthrow of longtime strongman Bashar al-Assad, a war monitor and local residents said.

Residents reported hearing huge explosions in the area, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes targeted defence and research facilities.

The observatory said that "at least seven massive explosions were heard, resulting from an Israeli airstrike on defence factories... south of Aleppo."

There was no immediate information on whether the strikes caused any casualties.

A resident of the al-Safira area told AFP on condition of anonymity: "They hit defense factories, five strikes... The strikes were very strong. It made the ground shake, doors and windows opened -- the strongest strikes I ever heard... It turned the night into day."

Since Islamist-led rebels overthrew Assad in early December, Israel has conducted hundreds of strikes on Syrian military assets, saying they are aimed at preventing military weapons from falling into hostile hands.

Netanyahu authorizes negotiators to continue Doha talks

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorised Israeli negotiators to continue talks in Doha on a hostage release, his office said Thursday, after Israel and Hamas traded blame for their slow progress.

Indirect negotiations mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States have taken place in Doha in recent weeks, rekindling hope for a ceasefire and hostage release agreement that has so far proven elusive.

But late last month the two sides accused each other of throwing up roadblocks, again delaying a deal.

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved the professional-level delegation of the Mossad (spy agency), the IDF (military) and the ISA (internal security agency) to continue the negotiations in Doha," a statement from his office said.

A team from Hamas had also reached Cairo to prepare for negotiations in Doha "in the coming days," an official from the group told AFP on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak publicly on the issue.

In December, Hamas had said that though negotiations were continuing "in a serious manner", Israeli negotiators had put forward "new conditions" which delayed reaching a deal.

Israel swiftly rebuffed the accusation, saying it was Hamas that was creating "new obstacles" to an agreement.

The latest developments came after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened to step up strikes in Gaza if Hamas failed to release the hostages.

"If Hamas does not soon allow the release of the Israeli hostages from Gaza... and continues firing (rockets) at Israeli communities, it will face blows of an intensity not seen in Gaza for a long time," Katz said.

  Stumbling blocks 

Successive rounds of negotiations have all failed since a single, week-long truce in November 2023.

In Israel, critics of Netanyahu, including relatives of some of the dozens of hostages still in captivity, have accused him of stalling.

During their attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Palestinian militants led by Hamas seized 251 hostages, 96 of whom remain in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

A key point of contention in the negotiations has been Israel's reluctance to agree to a lasting ceasefire.

Another unresolved issue has been Gaza's post-war governance. Israel has said repeatedly that it will not allow Hamas to rule the territory ever again.

Netanyahu has also said he will not agree to a complete withdrawal from Gaza.

The Oct. 7, 2023 attack resulted in 1,208 deaths on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 45,581 people in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the U.N. considers reliable.