A missile fired from Yemen struck central Israel on Sunday morning, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The Houthis, an armed group which controls much of northern Yemen, have claimed responsibility for the attack.
The missile entered Israeli airspace from the east and fell in an open area, the IDF said in a message on X (formerly Twitter). There were no casualties as a result of the incident, it added.
In a later post, the Israeli military said that the attack had originated in Yemen. It also clarified that the explosive sounds that were heard above central Israel had been made by the IDF’s interceptors, which were fired at the incoming projectile.
Sirens were activated in the area from Tel-Aviv on the Mediterranean coast to the city of Modiin some 25km (18 miles) to its south-east at around 6:30am local time, the Times of Israel reported.
According to the paper, a missile reportedly hit an open area and caused a fire in the Ben Shemen forest, a few kilometers away from Ben Gurion International Airport outside Tel-Aviv. Shrapnel also damaged a train station on the outskirts of Modiin, and the police are looking for missile debris in other areas, it added.
Nine people were slightly wounded as they ran for shelter amid the attack, Israel's ambulance service Magen David Adom has said.
A few hours later, the Houthis confirmed their responsibility for the missile strike, with the group’s spokesman saying in a statement that “the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a specific military operation” against “a military target of the Israeli enemy” in Tel-Aviv’s Jaffa port area.
The attack involved “a new hypersonic ballistic missile,” which was able to hit its intended target, the spokesman claimed. “The enemy’s defense systems failed to intercept and confront [the missile]. It crossed a distance of 2,040km in eleven and a half minutes, and caused a state of fear and panic” in Israel, he added.
The Houthis have been attacking merchant ships allegedly linked to Israel in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden with drones and missiles since October of last year, saying they are acting in support of the Palestinians amid Israel’s strikes on Gaza.
The Yemeni group has also been targeting Israeli territory with drones and missiles, but has only been able to penetrate the air defenses on a few occasions.
Saree warned that “the Israeli enemy should expect more strikes and specific operations” in the run up to the first anniversary of the October 7 attack on Israel by the Palestinian armed group Hamas, in which around 1,200 people were killed and some 250 taken hostage.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, at least 41,206 people in the Palestinian enclave have been killed and 95,337 others wounded in the IDF’s air campaign and group operation, which was launched in response to the Hamas attack.