Israeli fighter jet intercepts cruise missile launched towards the south of the country

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Israel’s military today intercepted a cruise missile that was launched towards the south of the country, it has said.

After reports of ‘an infiltration by a hostile aircraft’ near the southern Red Sea resort of Eilat, an Israeli fighter jet ‘successfully intercepted a cruise missile that was launched toward Israel’, the IDF said in a statement.

‘No infiltration into Israeli territory was identified,’ it added.

Eilat has previously been targeted by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, with the group’s leader last week vowing to continue its attacks on Israel.

Iran-backed armed groups across the Middle East have been drawn into the war ignited by the Hamas terror group and its October 7 attack on southern Israel, in which gunmen killed around 1,200 people.

Israel has responded with an intense air and ground war that has levelled vast areas of Gaza and claimed more than 14,000 lives according to the Hamas government, while its 2.4 million people endure a punishing siege. 

Lebanon’s Hezbollah has traded fire with Israel on a daily basis along the border and the Houthi rebels have launched drones and missiles towards Israel – as well as seizing an Israeli-linked cargo ship on Sunday.

Such attacks have raised fears of a wider conflict spilling out in the Middle East. 

There was no immediate confirmation that today’s attack originated from Yemen.

News of the interception came as a cease-fire agreement between the Hamas terrorist group and Israel was confirmed by both parties.

The first truce in a brutal seven-week war will last for at least four days, allow aid to enter the Gaza Strip and will see at least 50 hostages captured by the terror group on October 7 released in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners.

This is a breaking news story. More to follow… 

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