Meanwhile, the Houthis claimed responsibility for firing a ballistic missile at southern Tel Aviv and sending a drone to hit Ashkelon. The Iran-aligned group vowed in a statement released on Friday to escalate its operations against Israel until what it described as “the aggression on Lebanon and Gaza” is halted after an unsuccessful attempt to strike Tel Aviv was foiled by Israeli air defenses.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree, in a televised address, said, “We will carry out more military operations against the Israeli enemy in victory for the blood of our brothers in Palestine and Lebanon.” This comes amid growing tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, with reports that Israeli airstrikes have killed more than 700 people since Monday.
The Houthis have waged an active campaign against Israel and have carried out numerous attacks on Israeli-flagged vessels in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait since November. As the conflict escalated, they did so according to solidarity with the attacked Palestinians in Gaza while also calling for the end of the Israeli operations in Lebanon.
The Israeli military confirmed on Friday that it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen following the activation of sirens and reports of explosions in Tel Aviv. “The surface-to-surface missile was intercepted by an ‘Arrow’ interceptor outside of Israeli territory,” the military said.
In July, the Houthis struck Tel Aviv with a drone and killed one, injuring at least ten others. It led to an Israeli Air Force strike in Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah, causing huge damage and losses.
Earlier this month, the Houthis reportedly reached central Israel with what they said was a hypersonic missile, setting fires and setting off air raid sirens that sent residents into shelters near Ben Gurion Airport. Israeli officials said that while an interceptor damaged the Houthi missile, it was not destroyed, and they disputed that it was hypersonic.
Since 2015, the Houthis have come under a United Nations arms embargo. The sanctions monitors sent a report to the UN that the group received support from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hezbollah from Lebanon, and various Iraqi factions.
