On Sunday, Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for a missile attack on central Israel. This came just hours after the Israeli military reported that a missile had landed in an open area, with no injuries reported.
Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree announced in a video statement that they “targeted a military position of the Israeli enemy in the Jaffa area” with a “ballistic missile.” He claimed the missile successfully hit its target and that Israeli defenses failed to intercept it.
Videos circulating online showed firefighters extinguishing a brush fire near Lod and damage, including broken glass, at a train station in Modin. Both locations are southeast of Tel Aviv, Israel’s main commercial city.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel would impose a “heavy price” on the Iran-aligned Houthis, who control northern Yemen, after they hit central Israel with a missile for the first time on Sunday. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea claimed the group used a new hypersonic ballistic missile, which traveled 2,040 km (1,270 miles) in just 11 and a half minutes.
Since the Gaza conflict began on October 7, the Houthis have launched several drone and rocket attacks on Israel. They state that these attacks are in support of Palestinians, who are experiencing a severe Israeli offensive. This offensive has resulted in at least 41,206 Palestinian deaths so far.
Additionally, on Sunday morning, four Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on the Nuseirat and Jabalia refugee camps in the Gaza Strip.
