Rockets were fired at Israel during Passover both from the Houthis in Yemen and from Gaza.
By Rachel Avraham
The Iran-backed Houthis fired a ballistic missile at Israel during Passover day on Sunday April 13, 2025 around 6:00pm, the Times of Israel reported. The bomb sirens were sounded in Jerusalem, Ben-Gurion International Airport, Bat Yam, Bet Shemesh, Gush Etzion, Herzliya, Hod Ha-Sharon, Kfar Chabad, Modiin, Kfar Saba, Petach Tikva, Ra’anana, Ramat Gan, Rehovot, Rishon Le-Tzion, Tel Aviv, Jaffa, Lod, Modiin Illit, Ramla, and a variety of other locations across Central Israel, the Jerusalem area and Judea and Samaria.
The missile was “apparently” successfully intercepted by air defenses, the military adds, the Times of Israel reported. According to the report, there are no reports of injuries or major damage. Shrapnel reportedly fell in the Hebron area.
Since March 18, when the IDF resumed its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis in Yemen have launched more than 20 ballistic missiles and several drones at Israel, the Times of Israel reported. According to the report, only half of the missiles set off sirens in Israel and were intercepted, while the others fell short.
According to Haaretz, several hours prior to the Houthi launch, rocket sirens were heard in Israel’s Kibbutz Reim area near the Gaza border; the IDF said a projectile from Gaza was intercepted. According to the report, no wounded were reported, the IDF said.
According to the Times of Israel, a rocket was launched from Gaza at Southern Israel on Saturday evening, Passover Eve, April 12, 2025, triggering sirens in several open areas near southern border towns. According to the report, the military said it successfully intercepted the rocket.
Earlier on Saturday, the shabbat before Passover evening, three rockets launched from Gaza at the border community of Nir Yitzhak were intercepted by air defenses, the Times of Israel reported. According to the report, the rocket fire set off alerts in open areas but not in any towns. No one was hurt.
The Times of Israel reported that Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz called on Palestinians to “remove Hamas and release all the hostages” before the military further expands its operations in the Gaza Strip following the recent barrage of rocket fire. “This is the final moment to remove Hamas and release the hostages and bring about an end to the war,” Katz said. “Intensive IDF activity will soon expand to additional places in most of Gaza, and you will have to evacuate the combat zones.”
The war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, when some 5,000 Hamas-led terrorists invaded 22 points in southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, massacring, raping, burning and mutilating 1,200 people and taking 251 others as hostages. To this day, 59 Israelis are held hostage by Hamas, of which 24 are believed to be alive. The two main goals of the war from the Israeli perspective are to bring the hostages home and to topple Hamas from power, so that Israelis can live in peace and security, without being bombarded with rockets on Jewish holidays.
