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The Israeli army said on Sunday that it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen, where Houthi rebels frequently launch attacks they describe as retaliation against the Israeli offensive in Gaza.“Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel, a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted by the IAF,” the Israeli Defense Forces said. “Sirens were sounded in accordance with protocol,” it added.Backed by Iran, the Houthis regularly target Israel with missiles and drones, most of which are successfully intercepted. Earlier this week, Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for an attack that set a Dutch-flagged cargo ship ablaze and left it adrift in the Gulf of Aden, highlighting the range of their weaponry and their campaign against shipping in the context of the Israel-Hamas conflict.The Houthis have launched missile and drone strikes on over 100 ships and on Israel, claiming they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians. However, some of their targets have had tenuous or no links to Israel.The missile attack comes as Hamas on Friday announced it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or deceased, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and expressed readiness to immediately enter mediated talks to finalize the details. Trump issued an ultimatum to Hamas on Friday, giving the group a deadline of Sunday, 6 pm (Washington DC time) to accept the US-proposed peace plan. He had warned that “all hell, like no one has ever seen before,” would follow if Hamas failed to comply.On Saturday, Trump announced that Israel had agreed to an “initial withdrawal line” in Gaza, which has also been shared with Hamas, setting the stage for a potential ceasefire and prisoner exchange in the two-year-old conflict.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was “on the brink of a great achievement” after Hamas signaled readiness to release hostages.
