Israel intercepts missile fired from Yemen as conflict with Houthis continues
JERUSALEM — Israel’s military said Sunday that it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen, suggesting that the Yemen-based Houthi militia would keep trying to strike Israel, despite the bombing by Israeli fighter jets of a port in Yemen on Saturday.
The Houthis, which are backed by Iran, said in a post on the Telegram messaging app that they had launched the missile at Eilat, Israel’s southernmost city on the coast of the Red Sea, “in response to the American, British and Israeli aggression against our country.” The post said the strike had “achieved its goals,” without giving details.
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The conflict between Israel and the Houthis has escalated as the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also fighting Hamas in the Gaza Strip and trading aerial attacks with Hezbollah, a militia also backed by Iran, across its northern border with Lebanon.
Israeli air defenses intercepted a missile that “approached Israeli territory from Yemen” following an air raid siren in the Eilat area, according to a statement by the Israeli military. The area is a popular beach resort, and mid-July is high season for Israeli vacationers.
“The projectile did not cross into Israeli territory. Rocket and missile sirens were sounded following the possibility of falling shrapnel,” it said in a statement on social media. The Israeli airstrikes in Yemen on Saturday were launched in retaliation for a deadly Houthi drone strike on Tel Aviv on Friday. Israeli warplanes hit the Red Sea port of Hodeida, leaving parts of the port in flames. The strikes targeted a power station as well as gas and oil depots, sites used for military purposes, the Israeli military said. It was the first time Israel had publicly struck the group following months of escalating Houthi attacks.
The Ministry of Health in Houthi-controlled Sana, Yemen’s capital, said Sunday that the strikes had killed three people and injured 87, many of whom suffered severe burns. The port plays a critical role in the economy of Yemen, and fuel stored there is vital for the effort to feed the population, which faces a hunger crisis.
The Houthi drone attack early Friday breached Israel’s multilayered air-defense system and hit an apartment building near the U.S. Embassy branch office in Tel Aviv, killing at least one person and wounding eight others.
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