Israel announces retaliation after Houthi rocket attack

A rocket fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels hit central Israel on Sunday, setting off warning sirens and sending passengers and staff seeking shelter at the country's main international airport. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to exact a “high price.”

The incident – ​​less than two months after a drone launched by the group struck Tel Aviv – marked a new escalation in Israel's confrontation with the Iran-backed rebels.

At the same time, it was a stark reminder that Israel is currently embroiled in a three-front war – with the Palestinian militia Hamas in the Gaza Strip, with the Lebanon-based Hezbollah on Israel's northern border, and with the Houthis, who say they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians.

Sunday's attack caused no serious damage or direct injuries, Israeli officials said, but raised pointed questions about how the projectile was able to penetrate so far into Israeli airspace. The Israeli military said the rocket appeared to have fragmented in mid-air and that it was examining the debris.

News footage showed a fire in a field in the rural area about 11 kilometers from Ben Gurion Airport, and loud explosions were heard in the area. Minor damage was reported at a train station in the central city of Modiin. Authorities said normal operations at the airport resumed shortly after the fire, which occurred just after 6:30 a.m. local time.

A statement by the Houthis claiming responsibility for the attack suggests the group's arsenal and tactics have become increasingly sophisticated. In a televised address on Sunday morning, Houthis' military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed to have spread “fear and panic” by using what he said was a hypersonic ballistic missile. The Israeli military denied it was a hypersonic weapon and said none of Israel's opponents had such technology.

Since the Gaza war began, the Houthis have repeatedly fired drones and missiles toward Israel, but almost all have been intercepted over the Red Sea. On July 19, an Iranian-made drone launched by the group struck near the Tel Aviv coast, killing one man and wounding several others.

Israel responded with numerous air strikes on Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, an impoverished country at the tip of the Arabian Peninsula where rebels have been waging war against government forces for two decades.

Netanyahu indicated that this attack would also trigger an Israeli reaction.

“The Houthis should know by now that we demand a high price for any attempt to harm us,” he told his cabinet hours after the attack. “Anyone who needs a reminder is invited to visit the port of Hodeidah” ​​- the Yemeni coastal city, a Houthis stronghold, that was targeted after the July drone attack in Tel Aviv.

The attack was praised by Hamas. Abu Obaida, spokesman for Hamas' armed wing, spoke of a “qualitative change.” But alongside Israel's denial that the missile had hypersonic speed, some experts also expressed skepticism.

“Right now, the Houthis are the only side talking about hypersonics,” said Mohammed al-Basha, a senior Middle East analyst at Navanti, a risk assessment group.

The Israeli military said it deployed air defenses when the rocket was spotted, but was still assessing the incident. So far, only one other Houthi-fired rocket has been reported to have penetrated Israeli territory, hitting near the Red Sea port city of Eilat in March.

Since the outbreak of the Gaza war – which began after Hamas-led attackers breached the coastal enclave's border fence and attacked southern Israel on October 7 last year, killing around 1,200 people and kidnapping about 250 others – the Houthis have also attacked commercial shipping in the Red Sea, portraying the attacks on ships of various nations as a blockade of Israel due to the Gaza war.

Saree, the Houthi spokesman, said Israel should expect more attacks as the one-year anniversary of the war approaches. The Gaza war has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, and devastated the small territory, devastating entire districts and displacing virtually its entire population of about 2.3 million.

In addition, according to the military, around 40 rockets and other projectiles were fired from Lebanon early Sunday in an almost daily exchange of fire along the Israeli-Lebanese border. The cross-border attacks have displaced tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border.

The Lebanese state news agency reported that the Israeli military dropped leaflets over a village in southern Lebanon warning residents that Hezbollah was firing from the area and that residents should leave their homes. Israeli media later reported that the leafleting was initiated by a local commander and did not receive approval from senior military or political officials.

Netanyahu also hinted that Israel could expand its attacks in Lebanon. He said the situation “requires a change in the balance of power on our northern border.”

“The status quo will not continue,” he told his cabinet.

King reported from Tel Aviv and Bulos from Beirut.

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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.