Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the Houthis in Yemen will pay a “high price” after a rocket fired by the group landed in central Israel.
The Israeli military said the rocket landed in an uninhabited area early Sunday morning, but shrapnel indicated air defense systems failed to destroy the rocket before it entered Israeli airspace.
It was also said that an investigation was underway into how the rocket was able to penetrate so far into Israeli territory.
It is the first time a rocket fired by the group has reached central Israel, which is about 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) from Yemen.
According to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), several attempts were made on Sunday to shoot down the rocket, but it most likely broke up in the air.
The Houthis claim that a new type of hypersonic missile was used in the operation, which could explain the failure of attempts to intercept this missile.
It is an armed group that captured much of the city during the ongoing civil war in Yemen. They have declared themselves part of the Iranian-led “axis of resistance” against Israel, the US and the West.
The Houthis said in a statement that Sunday’s attack was carried out in solidarity with the Palestinians and that Israel could expect more attacks in the run-up to the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks.
Rocket fragments hit a train station in the city of Modiin, causing some damage, and in open terrain near Israel’s main international airport on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.
The damage is believed to have been caused by Israeli interceptor missiles.
Netanyahu said the attack showed that Israel was engaged in a “multi-front battle against the Iranian axis of evil, which seeks to destroy us.”
“(The Houthis) should have known by now that we exact a high price for any attempt to harm us,” he said.
“Anyone who attacks us will not escape our weapons.
“Hamas has already felt this through our determined action, which will lead to the destruction of Hamas and the release of all our hostages.”
Following the October 7 attacks, Israeli forces launched a campaign to destroy Hamas, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking another 251 hostages to Gaza.
More than 41,206 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the campaign, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
This is not the first time the Houthis have attacked Israel.
In July, one man was killed and eight people were injured after a Houthi drone landed in Tel Aviv.
Previously, virtually all Houthi missiles and drones fired at Israel had been intercepted and it was not known whether any had reached Tel Aviv.
In response to this, Israeli fighter jets have attacked the city of Hodeidah in Yemen, where a massive fire broke out, destroying one of the country’s main oil storage facilities.
