UAE Foils New Houthi Ballistic Missile Attack

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The United Arab Emirates on Monday said it has intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by Yemen’s Houthi militia amid a first-ever visit by Israel’s president.

The attack did not result in any losses as the shrapnel of the ballistic missile fell outside populated areas, the UAE Ministry of Defense said in a statement carried by WAM news agency.

UAE air forces, together with the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, subsequently destroyed the the missile launch site in Yemen’s Al-Jawf governorate, the statement said.

The UAE defense ministry affirmed its “full readiness to deal with any threats,” adding that it will “take all necessary measures to protect the UAE from any attacks.”

The Houthi attack came hours after Israel’s President Isaac Herzog arrived in Abu Dhabi to seek stronger regional ties.

The UAE, along with Bahrain, signed US-brokered normalization agreements with Israel, dubbed the “Abraham Accords,” in 2020. The two Gulf states and Israel share concerns about Iran and its allied forces in the region.

Herzog discussed security and bilateral relations with the UAE’s de facto ruler, Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in Abu Dhabi.

Herzog spent the night in Abu Dhabi, an Israeli official told Reuters. He will continue his UAE visit despite the Houthi attack, his office said.

Following the attack, the General Civil Aviation Authority assured the public the latest Houthi atrocity has not affected air traffic in the country.

“The air traffic in the country is going as usual, and operations of all flights are running normally. There is no impact on flights and airports as a result of the ballistic missile launched by the terrorist Houthi militia,” the authority said.

Arab News

Arab News is Saudi Arabia's first English-language newspaper. It was founded in 1975 by Hisham and Mohammed Ali Hafiz. Today, it is one of 29 publications produced by Saudi Research & Publishing Company (SRPC), a subsidiary of Saudi Research & Marketing Group (SRMG).

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