Yemen’s Houthis said on Sunday they had struck “key targets” in Israel, a day after the Israeli military confirmed strikes in the militia-held port city of Hodeidah, fueling a regional escalation.
The attack on Hodeidah in western Yemen followed a Houthi attack in Tel Aviv on Friday, which the Iran-backed militias called retaliation for Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip.
Houthis military spokesman Yehya Saree said on Sunday that the group had fired ballistic missiles at “key targets” in Eilat in southern Israel.
“The operation successfully achieved its goals,” he added in a televised statement, without elaborating.
The Israeli military says it has “successfully” intercepted a missile headed toward Israel from Yemen.
“Rocket and missile sirens sounded after the possibility of falling shrapnel. The incident is over,” the Israeli military added.
The militia’s leader, Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, sounded defiant on Sunday: “Israeli aggression against our country will contribute to escalating our operations against the country and developing our capabilities,” he said in a televised speech.
“We are very happy with the direct combat between us and the Israeli enemy,” he added.
“In this fight we are stronger than ever before. Skills are constantly being developed to meet challenges at every level.”
Al-Houthi said the drone that targeted Tel Aviv on Friday was developed and launched by Yemenis, implicitly denying that Iran had supplied the drone to his group.
He added that attacking Tel Aviv marks a new phase of escalation.
“The Israeli enemy will have no deterrence and will not restore it to our (pro-Palestinian) support operations. The results will be more escalation and targeting,” he said.
According to the Houthis, at least six people were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Hodeidah.
The militia’s mouthpiece, al-Masirah television, citing the Houthi-controlled Health Ministry, reported that the Israeli strike targeted civilian facilities in Hodeidah, leaving six dead, three missing and 83 wounded. Initially, it was reported that three people had been killed.
Houthi militants have also attacked ships in the Red Sea and said they want an end to Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, which followed the unprecedented massacre by the Palestinian Islamist organization Hamas in Israel in October.