SANAA: Yemen’s Houthi rebels said Wednesday that they had fired a ballistic missile and two drones at Israel, days after an attack on Tel Aviv wounded 16 people.
Israel’s military said it intercepted the missile and that one drone “fell in an open area” after sirens sounded in the country’s south, near the Gaza Strip.
“The UAV (drone) force of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out two military operations” targeting Israel’s commercial hub of Tel Aviv and the southern city of Ashkelon, a Houthi military statement said.
The missile was also aimed at the Tel Aviv area, the Houthis announced earlier. The Israelis said it was shot down before it entered Israeli territory.
A Houthi military statement said the attack was carried out “using a hypersonic ballistic missile, type Palestine 2”.
Yemen’s Houthis claim missile attack on Israel
The Houthis have repeatedly launched missiles at Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians since the war in Gaza erupted more than a year ago.
Most have been intercepted, but on Saturday an attack that hit Tel Aviv wounded 16 people, prompting a warning from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“We will act against the Houthis… with force, determination and sophistication,” he said in a video statement on Sunday.
In the missile attack on Wednesday, air raid sirens sounded over a wide swathe of central Israel as a precaution against falling debris.
“A missile that was launched from Yemen was intercepted before crossing into Israeli territory,” the military said in a statement.
No injuries were reported, according to Israel’s emergency medical services.
On Tuesday, the Israeli army said it had intercepted a projectile fired from Yemen.
In July, a Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv killed an Israeli civilian, prompting retaliatory strikes on the Yemeni port of Hodeidah.
The Houthis have also regularly targeted shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, leading to retaliatory strikes by US and sometimes British forces.
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