Israel intercepts Red Sea missile, now sets sights on southernmost Gaza

Israel on Friday shot down a missile fired toward it from the Red Sea — a favored method of attack by Yemen-backed Houthi rebels terrorizing the region, including by targeting US ships.

The Israel Defense Forces said its “Arrow” aerial defense system successfully intercepted the surface-to-surface rocket.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Houthi terrorists have regularly launched drone and missile attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea since Nov. 19, saying it is in protest of Israel’s operation in Gaza.

The development came as the IDF indicated it is shifting its military focus in Gaza to Rafah — the southernmost city in the Palestinian-controlled strip — after completing its mission in south central Khan Younis, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, according to CNN.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have fled to Rafah, which shares a border with Egypt, as the IDF started in the north and moved south.

Israel had most recently been focused on Khan Younis, where it claimed to have killed hundreds of Hamas fighters in the past day.

Many civilians in Khan Younis were said to be “cramming” into Rafah after their city was attacked, according to the UN.

“Rafah is a pressure cooker of despair, and we fear for what comes next,” United Nations rep Jens Laerke said Friday.

“In recent days, thousands of Palestinians have continued to flee to the south, which is already hosting over half the Gaza’s population of some 2.3 million people. Most are living in makeshift structures, tents or out in the open,” Laerke said.

Israel’s troops also seized the equivalent of $27,300 from a Hamas bank vault in central Gaza, according to the Times of Israel.

It uncovered intelligence documents in the bank, too, the IDF said.

Meanwhile, the Iran-backed terror group Al-Nujaba has pledged to continue its attack on US forces until America withdraws its people from Iraq and a cease-fire happens in Gaza, according to CNN.

Leader Akram Al-Kaabi said his group would not follow the decision of Hezbollah, another Iranian-back terror organization that said Tuesday it would suspend its terrorist campaign against the US.

With Post wires