The army claims that debris from an intercepted missile fired from Yemen was the cause of the fires that Israeli firemen were fighting on Monday west of Jerusalem.
According to the Jerusalem region fire department, firefighters were attempting to put out the fires while scanning the Beit Shemesh area to rule out additional fires and “damage from interceptor/missile shrapnel.”
When AFP asked the Israeli military about the event, they replied that debris from the interception of a rocket from Yemen caused fires in the Bet Shemesh area.
The Israeli Air Force (IAF) intercepted one rocket that was headed towards Israel from Yemen after sirens sounded in the Shfelat Yehuda, Yehuda, and Lakhish areas of central Israel, according to a statement.
“The projectile did not cross into Israeli territory. Sirens were sounded in accordance with protocol.”
Since the beginning of the Gaza War, Israel has been the target of sporadic drone and missile attacks by Yemen’s Huthi rebels, who are a component of Iran’s “axis of resistance” against Israel and the US.
During the Gaza conflict, the Huthis have also launched a campaign of harassment against shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, seriously interfering with the crucial trade route.