Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to respond harshly to a rocket attack by the Iran-aligned Houthi militia in Yemen on Sunday.
“We are waging a multi-front campaign against the Iranian axis of evil, which seeks our destruction,” Netanyahu said during his weekly cabinet meeting.
“This morning the Houthis fired a surface-to-surface missile from Yemen into our territory. They must know that we will exact a high price for any attempt to attack us.”
The long-range ballistic missile set off air raid sirens in central Israel. Sounds of explosions heard in the early hours of Sunday were due to Israeli missile interceptors, the military said, adding that it was evaluating the outcome.
According to the Jerusalem Post daily, the rocket was fired in the direction of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area.
The Arrow 3 missile defense system apparently failed to intercept the projectile before it entered the atmosphere. Only on the second attempt did the Arrow 2 defense system succeed in hitting it over Israeli airspace.
According to media reports, rocket fragments landed in several parts of the country, including the cities of Modiin and Rehovot.
Houthis military spokesman Yehya Saree said the attack was carried out with a new hypersonic ballistic missile aimed at an Israeli military target in Jaffa.
“The estimated distance of 2,040 kilometers was covered in 11:30 minutes,” he said in a televised statement.
“The Israeli enemy can expect more attacks and specific operations,” he added.
The Houthis have claimed several attacks on Israel since the war in Gaza broke out in October last year.
Following a deadly drone attack on Tel Aviv by the Houthis earlier this year, the Israeli air force struck the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah in July, causing a massive fire and killing six people. The Houthi leader subsequently announced a new phase in the fight against Israel.
The Houthi militants have also attacked ships in the Red Sea and said they want an end to Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, which follow unprecedented massacres by the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement in Israel during the October 7 attack.
