Houthi missile attack coincides with Knesset debate; Smotrich reacts live

Alarms sounded early Thursday morning across central Israel as a missile launched by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen triggered alerts across central Israel and the Jerusalem area. The Israel Defense Forces confirmed that the missile was intercepted outside Israel’s borders.

The alarms blared at 3:59 a.m., jolting millions awake in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and the centre of the country.

The missile launch coincided with a speech by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in the Knesset during a debate on the Arrangements Law, a package of government-sponsored legislation presented alongside the state budget.

“With God’s help, we will lead to a great victory and bring a budget for growth and infrastructure, we will win the war, we will reward the reservists,” Smotrich declared, moments before MKs were informed of the alarms.

“How can we not hear?” Smotrich remarked as television screens filled with flashing warnings.

Knesset members are typically required to evacuate only if alarms sound in the immediate vicinity of the parliament building, which was not the case. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not present in the plenum at the time.

Magen David Adom reported that 13 people sustained injuries while rushing to protected areas, while three others suffered panic-related injuries.

As a precaution, several incoming flights to Ben Gurion Airport were delayed while runways were inspected.

The attack followed a missile launch by the Houthis a day earlier, the first since the collapse of a recent ceasefire. That missile was intercepted by Israel’s Arrow defense system in Saudi airspace, triggered alerts in Beersheba and surrounding Negev communities.

Also on Wednesday, Israel confirmed its first ground operation in Gaza since the collapse of the two-month ceasefire as soldiers began returning to the Netzarim Corridor to prevent terrorists from crossing between northern and southern Gaza.

The Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, which is affiliated with Hezbollah, reported Wednesday that the Houthis had received instructions to resume operations against Israel in response to the Israel’s renewed military activities in Gaza. The report suggested that further escalation could occur and that the Houthis were coordinating their actions with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump issued a stern warning to the Houthis on Wednesday, saying they would be “totally destroyed” if they continued their actions. “Iran must stop these shipments immediately,” Trump said, adding that Tehran should “let the Houthis fight on their own. They will lose anyway, but they will lose faster this way.”

Israeli airstrikes on Hamas on Tuesday ended a two-month ceasefire with the Iran-backed terror group.

Hamas insisted on the original ceasefire terms, which called for Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza and a permanent end to the war in exchange for the remaining hostages. However, Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to continue operations until Hamas is dismantled. Talks over phase two of the agreement, set to begin February 3, never took place.

Despite this, the ceasefire held for weeks as mediators sought new terms. U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff proposed extending phase one of the ceasefire in exchange for the release of five hostages. However, Witkoff dismissed Hamas’s response to the proposal as unacceptable, warning of consequences if the group did not reconsider.

At least 1,180 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 59 remaining hostages, 36 are believed to be dead.