Yemen's Houthis claim responsibility for rocket attack on Israel – SABC News

The Yemeni Houthis claimed responsibility for a ballistic missile attack that reached the center Israel for the first time on Sunday.

“For the first time in the enemy’s history, more than two million Zionists were forced to flee to shelters,” the Houthis’ military spokesman said in a statement.

The Iran-aligned Houthis, who control northern Yemen, fired the first surface-to-surface missile to reach central Israel on Sunday. It hit an uninhabited area and caused no casualties.

Shortly before the rocket hit at 6:35 a.m. local time (03:35 CET), air raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and throughout central Israel, causing residents to run for cover. Loud bangs could be heard, which the military said came from missile interceptors.

“According to the sirens that sounded recently in central Israel, a surface-to-surface missile was identified that entered central Israel from the east and landed in an open area. No injuries were reported,” the military said.

Deputy head of the Houthi media office, Nasruddin Amer, said in a post on X on Sunday that a Yemeni missile had reached Israel after “20 missiles failed to intercept it,” calling it “the beginning.”

In a statement on Telegram, the group said its military spokesman would soon announce details of a “qualitative operation aimed at the depths of the Zionist entity.”

Reuters saw smoke rising from an open field in central Israel, but it was not immediately clear whether the fire was caused by the rocket or debris from an interceptor.

Sunday's attack appears to be the first time the Houthis have fired a rocket deep into Israeli airspace. They have fired at Israel several times in solidarity with the Palestinians since the Gaza war began last October. Most of those rockets were shot down, but one hit an open area near Israel's Red Sea port of Eilat in March.

In July, a Houthi drone reached Tel Aviv, killing one man and wounding four others. That attack, the first foreign drone strike on Tel Aviv, prompted Israel to launch a major airstrike on Houthi military targets near the Yemeni port of Hodeidah, killing six people and wounding 80.

The Israeli military also said that 40 missiles were fired from Lebanon towards Israel on Sunday and that they were either intercepted or landed in open areas.

“No injuries were reported,” the military said.