“The target did not cross into Israeli territory and did not pose a threat to civilians. The sirens were sounded according to policy,” the military said.
Eilat, on the Red Sea, has in the past been the target of long-distance launches by Yemeni Houthis, in solidarity with Palestinians since the outbreak in October of the Gaza war.
American forces operating in the Red Sea have destroyed seven anti-ship missiles, one missile launcher and a drone originating from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, the US military said early Thursday.
In a statement on the X platform, the Central Command said its forces conducted four self-defense strikes against the Houthi missiles between 12 a.m. and 6:45 p.m. (Sanaa time), on Feb. 21, as they were prepared to launch towards targets in the Red Sea.
"A one-way attack unmanned aircraft system (UAS) was also shot in self-defense by CENTCOM forces," the statement said.
It added that the missiles, launchers and UAS were identified to originate from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined that they "presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and to the US Navy ships in the region."
