WATCH: Houthi ballistic missile wounds 16 in Tel Aviv-Jaffa

JERUSALEM – Israelis were awakened before dawn on Saturday by the sound of rocket-alert sirens as the Houthis in Yemen, who didn’t seem to take the hint when the Israeli Air Force smashed its three main ports, fired another ballistic missile toward the country’s densely-populated central plain.

Israel’s much vaunted multi-layered defensive missile shield suffered a loss, as the projectile penetrated Israel’s airspace and impacted a children’s playground among a complex of apartment buildings. Sixteen people were wounded in the incident, mostly from cuts and grazes from falling while running to find shelter and from shards of glass.

And here it is: “The missile force of the Yemeni armed forces targeted a military target of the Israeli enemy in the Jaffa area with a ‘Palestine 2′ hypersonic ballistic missile. The missile hit its target accurately,” the Houthis said this morning. https://t.co/T99I1F4ATq

— Ariel Oseran (@ariel_oseran) December 21, 2024

Israel’s Air Force immediately commissioned an investigation into the failure of the defensive shield missile system to intercept the Houthi ordnance, which the Yemenis claimed was “hypersonic.”

This latest attack was the ninth this month, and has seen a mixture of missiles and drones targeting Israel’s second city Tel Aviv, as well as further south in the country. Indeed, the investigation found that an interceptor missile malfunctioned.

According to Kan News, Arrow interceptors were launched into the upper atmosphere but missed the target outside of Israeli territory. Interceptors were then launched in the lower atmosphere, but also missed the incoming projectile.

Israel had more success later in the day as a pair of AH-64 “Apache” attack helicopters chased down an unmanned aerial vehicle and dispatched it with machine gun fire. It seems a tactic it will likely repeat as the helicopters have had significant successes against drone infiltrations.

Impressive Footage from earlier today in Southern Israel, showing a Pair of AH-64 “Apache” Attack Helicopters with the Israeli Air Force chasing and downing a Houthi Drone, using their M230 30mm Chain Guns. pic.twitter.com/njZL3wqI3l

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) December 21, 2024

The big question now is where does Israel go from here. It pounded Yemen on Thursday in response to Wednesday’s ballistic missile attack, striking the ports of Hodeida and Salif, and the oil terminal at Ras Isa. Reports have emerged with regard to Yemen. Israeli media suggested plans are already at an advanced stage for another IAF strike on the country.

Indeed, a source close to Yemen’s internationally recognized government, headquartered in Aden in southern Yemen, told Kan that Israel should initiate targeted assassinations of Houthi leaders, as it did over the previous year against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“Israel should act as it did in Lebanon and target the top individuals responsible for the Houthis’ operations within the organization’s leadership,” the source said.

Meanwhile, Houthi leaders have reportedly either gone underground or fled Sana’a for fear of targeted assassinations, either by Israel or the United States, which carried out a series of airstrikes, in conjunction with Britain’s Royal Air Force on Saturday night.

And Israel is expecting more attacks to emanate from Yemen, as Iran attempts to make good on the loss of its proxies in Gaza, and particularly the powerful Hezbollah in Lebanon.