Yemen's Houthis claim launched pre-dawn missile intercepted by Israel

Sanaa (The Uttam Hindu): Yemen’s Houthi group claimed responsibility for launching a "hypersonic ballistic missile" at Tel Aviv, an attack that Israel said it successfully intercepted. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea stated in a message broadcast on al-Masirah TV that the missile targeted a military site in Tel Aviv in support of the Palestinian people in Gaza. He added that more attacks would follow, emphasizing that the US-led airstrikes on Houthi positions in Yemen would not deter the group. “We are fully prepared and ready to confront the Israeli-American-British aggression on Yemen,” Sarea said.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the interception of the missile, which triggered air-raid sirens in central and southern Israel just before 2 a.m. local time. These sirens prompted millions of residents to seek shelter, and the IDF stated that the missile was intercepted before entering Israeli territory. The sirens were activated as a precaution due to the potential of falling shrapnel. This missile strike followed a drone attack launched by the Houthis a day earlier, which was also intercepted by Israel. Since October 2023, the Houthis have occasionally targeted Israel in support of Gaza’s Palestinians, prompting Israel to retaliate with large-scale airstrikes on Yemen.

On the same day, Yemen’s pro-government forces reported that eight Houthi fighters were killed and 15 others wounded in clashes in the southwestern province of Taiz. The pro-government forces described the Houthi attack as a failed attempt to breach fortified military positions in the northwestern part of Taiz. Eyewitnesses reported seeing Houthi medical teams evacuating the injured from the battlefield to hospitals outside the city.