Keanu Reeves spins out at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in pro auto racing debut

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Hollywood star Keanu Reeves made his professional auto racing debut on Saturday in an event in which “The Matrix” star spun out at famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Reeves spun into the grass without a collision on the exit of Turn 9 a little more than halfway through the 45-minute race. He re-entered and continued driving, signaling he was uninjured.

Reeves, who qualified 31st out of the 35 cars, ran as high as 21st and successfully avoided a first lap crash in Turn 14. Reeves finished 25th.

Reeves, who is 60 years old, is competing at Indianapolis in Toyota GR Cup, a Toyota spec-racing series and a support series for this weekend’s Indy 8 Hour sports car event. He has a second race Sunday.

Reeves is driving the No. 92 BRZRKR car, which is promoting his graphic novel “The Book of Elsewhere.” He is teammates with Cody Jones from “Dude Perfect."

Reeves has previous racing experience as a former participant in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach in the celebrity race. Reeves won the event in 2009.

He is scheduled to attend a 30th anniversary screening of “Speed” on Tuesday in Los Angeles alongside his co-star Sandra Bullock.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Keanu Reeves walks in the garage area following a GR Cup Series auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Keanu Reeves drives during the GR Cup Series auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Keanu Reeves drives during the GR Cup Series auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Fans watch as Keanu Reeves drives during the GR Cup Series auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Keanu Reeves waves to fans in the garage area following a GR Cup Series auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Keanu Reeves climbs out of his car following a GR Cup Series auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Keanu Reeves drives during the GR Cup Series auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

A fan holds a photo of Keanu Reeves as he drives during the GR Cup Series auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Keanu Reeves walks in the garage area following a GR Cup Series auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Keanu Reeves drives during the GR Cup Series auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Keanu Reeves drives during the GR Cup Series auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Keanu Reeves sits in his car before a GR Cup Series auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Keanu Reeves drives during the GR Cup Series auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rocket fired from Yemen hit an area of Tel Aviv overnight, leaving 16 people injured by shattered glass, the Israeli military said Saturday, days after Israeli airstrikes hit Houthi rebels who have been launching missiles in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Another 14 people sustained minor injuries as they rushed to shelters when air raid sirens sounded before dawn Saturday, the military said.

The Houthis issued a statement on Telegram saying they had aimed a hypersonic ballistic missile at a military target, which they did not identify.

“A flash of light, a blow and we fell to the ground. Big mess, broken glasses all over the place,” said Bar Katz, a resident of a damaged building.

The attack came after Israeli airstrikes on Yemen’s Houthi-held capital, Sanaa, and port city of Hodeida killed at least nine people Thursday. The Israeli strikes were in response to a Houthi long-range missile that hit an Israeli school building. The Houthis also claimed a drone strike targeting an unspecified military target in central Israel on Thursday.

Israel's military says the Iran-backed Houthis have launched more than 200 missiles and drones during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The Houthis have also attacked shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and say they won’t stop until there is a ceasefire in Gaza.

The Israeli strikes Thursday caused “considerable damage” to the Houthi-controlled Red Sea ports that will lead to the "immediate and significant reduction in port capacity,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The Hodeida port has been key for food shipments into Yemen in its decade-long civil war.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said both sides’ attacks risk further escalation in the region.

Mourners in Gaza held funerals for 19 people — 12 of them children — killed in Israeli strikes on Friday and overnight.

One strike hit a residential building in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing at least seven Palestinians, including five children and one woman, and injuring 16 others, health officials said.

In Gaza City, a strike on a house killed 12 people, including seven children and two women, according to Al-Ahli Hospital where the bodies were taken.

One man cradled a tiny shroud-wrapped body as mourners gathered at the hospital in Gaza City. Women comforted each other as they wept.

Overall, Gaza's Health Ministry said 21 people had been killed over the past 24 hours.

More than 45,200 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, when a Hamas attack in Israel killed about 1,200 people and triggered the 14-month war. The health ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but has said more than half of fatalities are women and children.

Israel faces heavy international criticism over the unprecedented levels of civilian deaths in Gaza. It says it only targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian deaths because its fighters operate in residential areas.

Gaza's Health Ministry issued an urgent appeal for medical and food supplies to be delivered to Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya in largely isolated northern Gaza, while the hospital director described conditions as dire, as Israel's military presses its latest offensive.

The ministry reported continuous gunfire and Israeli shelling near the hospital, saying “shells have struck the third floor and the hospital’s entrances, creating a state of panic.”

Hospital director Dr. Husam Abu Safiyeh said the facility faced “severe shortages” and asserted that requests for essential medical supplies and ways to maintain oxygen, water and electricity systems "have largely gone unmet.”

He said 72 wounded people were being treated at the hospital.

“Food is very scarce, and we cannot provide meals for the wounded," Safiyeh added. “We are urgently calling on anyone who can provide supplies to help us.”

Aid groups have said Israeli military operations and armed gangs have hindered their ability to distribute aid.

The Israeli military organization dealing with humanitarian affairs for Gaza said Saturday it had led an operation delivering thousands of food packages, flour and water to the Beit Hanoun area in the north. It said trucks with the U.N. World Food Program transported them to distribution centers in the area Friday.

Iran on Saturday said unknown gunmen had killed a local staffer of the Iranian embassy in Syria, the official IRNA news agency said.

Its report quoted foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei as saying “terrorists” opened fire on Davood Bitaraf’s car last Sunday. It did not say what he did with the embassy.

Baghaei said Iran considers Syria’s interim government responsible for finding and prosecuting those behind the killing. Iran had been a key ally of recently ousted Syrian leader Bashar Assad.

Shurafa reported from Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip. Associated Press writers Elena Becatoros in Majdal Shams, Golan Heights, contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Bodies of victims of an Israeli airstrike at the Nuseirat refugee camp are prepared for the funeral prayer outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Men pray over the bodies of victims of an Israeli airstrike at the Nuseirat refugee camp during a funeral prayer outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Saturday Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Bodies of victims of an Israeli airstrike at the Nuseirat arrive at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital before their funeral in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

An Israeli soldier observes the site where the missile launched from Yemen landed Jaffa district, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Tomer Appelbaum)