On Sunday, the Houthi rebels in Yemen for the first time hit central Israel with a missile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the armed group allied with Iran will pay a “heavy price” for this. The Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree stated that the group controlling northern Yemen used a new hypersonic ballistic missile to launch the attack, which traveled 1270 miles in just 11.5 minutes.
Initially, the Israeli military stated that the missile landed in an open area, but later mentioned that the missile might have fragmented in the air, with intercepting missile debris falling in fields and near a railway station. There were no reports of injuries.
The attack occurred around 6:35 local time (3:35 GMT), following air raid sirens in Tel Aviv and various parts of central Israel alerting residents to take cover. Loud bangs were audible.
Reporters from Reuters witnessed thick smoke rising from an open area in central Israel. Netanyahu later stated in a weekly cabinet meeting that the Houthi rebels should know they will pay a “heavy price” for attacking Israel.
Netanyahu remarked, “Anyone who needs a reminder can visit Hodeidah port,” referring to Israel’s retaliatory airstrike on Yemen in July when Houthi rebels launched a drone attack on Tel Aviv. Since Hamas attacked Israel in October last year, leading to the Gaza war, the Houthi rebels have repeatedly fired missiles and drones at Israel, claiming to support the Palestinians.
In July, the first drone attack by Houthi rebels on Tel Aviv resulted in one death and four injuries. In response, Israel launched airstrikes near Hodeidah port, targeting Houthi military objectives, resulting in six deaths and 80 injuries.
Previously, Houthi missiles did not penetrate deep into Israeli airspace. According to reports, in March, a missile hit an open area near the Red Sea port of Eilat, the only missile from the group to hit Israeli territory.
Saree mentioned that as the anniversary of Hamas’ attack on October 7th nears, Israel should expect more attacks in the future, including responses from the Houthi rebels towards Hodeidah port.
Nasruddin Amer, deputy director of the Houthi media office, stated on social media that after the “failure of intercepting 20 missiles in Israel,” this missile reaching Israel is just the “beginning.”
On Sunday, the Israeli military reported 40 missiles coming from the direction of Lebanon, with some either intercepted or falling in open areas. “No reports of injuries,” the Israeli military added.