IDF admits Houthis penetrated Eilat missile defense for the first time

The IDF late Tuesday night admitted for the first time that the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen have penetrated the country's missile air defense.

According to the IDF, reports of an unidentified object landing north of Eilat on Sunday night referred to a cruise missile which came from the direction of the Red Sea.

Although the IDF did not specifically identify the Houthis, the Iranian-backed group in Yemen has tried to strike Israel with ballistic missiles numerous times for months.

Until now, all of its missiles had been shot down, often by the Arrow 1 or 3 missile defense system.

There was one case of a small drone fired from Syria penetrating into Eilat, but it did little damage and had little potential for damage.

Missiles and drone aircrafts are seen on display at an exhibition at an unidentified location in Yemen in this undated handout photo released by the Houthi Media Office (credit: HOUTHI MEDIA OFFICE/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)© Provided by The Jerusalem Post

Missiles and drone aircrafts are seen on display at an exhibition at an unidentified location in Yemen in this undated handout photo released by the Houthi Media Office (credit: HOUTHI MEDIA OFFICE/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)

In contrast, the cruise missile in question did not hit any structures and landed in an open area, but could have potentially done far more damage.

IDF probing why the missile wasn't shot down

The IDF said it is probing why the missile was not shot down.

One possibility could be that it was a cruise missile that flies in a more line-drive fashion and which might have caught the air defense operators by surprise.

Israel's David Sling is also made to shoot down such cruise missiles, but it has not been used in Eilat to date.