Middle East – Houthi missile from Yemen hit Israel

Yemen’s Houthi militia claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it had attacked a “military post” in the Jaffa area near Tel Aviv. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a tough response.

Nine people were slightly injured
Alerted by sirens, residents of central Israel rushed to shelters, Israeli media reported. Nine people were lightly injured, according to Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service.

AFP journalists saw firefighters extinguishing a fire near the city of Lod after the attack, which was sparked by falling rocket parts. Broken glass was seen at a train station in Modin, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) southeast of Tel Aviv.

Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said in a video message that the militia had deployed a “new hypersonic ballistic missile” that “successfully reached its target” without being intercepted by “enemy defenses.”

In mid-July, the militia had already attacked Tel Aviv with drones, killing a civilian. Israel then carried out airstrikes on the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah.

According to his office, Netanyahu said during the weekly cabinet meeting: The Houthis should have known that anyone who wanted to harm Israel would have to pay a high price. “If you need a reminder, feel free to visit the port of Hodeidah,” Netanyahu said. After a deadly Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv, the Israeli air force struck the Yemeni port in July, setting a large fire and killing six people.

“Anyone who attacks us will not escape our fist,” Netanyahu continued. “We are engaged in a multi-front war against the Iranian axis of evil, which seeks to destroy us.” The so-called resistance axis includes militias allied with Iran, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi militia in Yemen.

Houthi militias attack merchant ships
Since November, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia has repeatedly attacked merchant ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden with alleged ties to Israel. According to their own statements, the Houthis want to support the Palestinians in the war between Israel and the radical Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The war in the Gaza Strip was triggered by a major Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 last year, in which fighters from Hamas and other Islamist groups in the Gaza Strip killed 1,205 people and took 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures.

In response to the Hamas attack, Israel has since launched a large-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip. According to Hamas figures, which cannot be independently verified, more than 41,200 people have been killed so far.

Hezbollah rockets
The Iranian-backed Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah also said it fired dozens of rockets into northern Israel. The group claimed responsibility for the attacks, which targeted a military base. The Israeli military said about 40 projectiles were fired into Israel from Lebanon. Some were intercepted by missile defenses, the rest fell in open areas. There were no reports of injuries.

Firefighters are trying to extinguish the fires caused by the attacks. In addition, a drone loaded with explosives crossed the border into Israel from Lebanon. It crashed near the town of Metula. No one was injured. On Sunday evening, the Israeli air force and artillery struck targets in Lebanon. A “terror cell” was hit, the statement continued.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Saturday night that four people, including three children, were wounded in an Israeli airstrike in northeastern Lebanon. The Israeli military said the air force had struck Hezbollah weapons depots in the Bekaa Valley and Baalbek.