Yemen’s Houthi rebels said on Wednesday 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 a drone “fell in an open area” after the siren went off in the south of the country near the Gaza Strip.
“The Yemeni armed forces’ UAV (drone) force launched two military operations targeting Israel’s commercial hub Tel Aviv and the southern city of Ashkelon,” a Houthi military statement said.
The Houthis had earlier announced that the missile was also aimed at the Tel Aviv area. The Israelis said it was shot down before it could enter Israeli territory.
A Houthi military statement said the attack was carried out “using a Palestine 2 type hypersonic ballistic missile”.
The Iran-backed Houthis have repeatedly fired missiles at Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians since the war broke out in Gaza more than a year ago.
Most have been contained, but an attack in Tel Aviv on Saturday injured 16 people, prompting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to issue a warning.
“We will act against the Houthis with force, determination and sophistication,” he said in a video statement on Sunday.
In Wednesday’s missile attack, air raid sirens were sounded across wide parts of central Israel as a precaution against falling debris.
“A missile launched from Yemen was intercepted before it could enter Israeli territory,” the army said in a statement.
According to Israel’s emergency medical services, no injuries were reported.
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 also regularly target shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, leading to retaliatory attacks by US and sometimes British forces.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)