Jerusalem, Jan 14 (IANS) Yemen’s Houthi forces fired a missile at Israel early on Tuesday, triggering sirens in wide areas, including Tel Aviv and some Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, according to an Israeli military statement.
“Several attempts were made to intercept the missile,” the military said, adding, “It was likely intercepted.”
No injuries were reported, but the attack caused property damage. The police said in a statement that homes in Mevo Beitar and Tzur Hadassah on the outskirts of Jerusalem were damaged. An image released by the police showed a missile fragment embedded in the roof of a residential home.
Bomb disposal units and additional police forces are operating in the area to assess the damage and secure the site.
“We carried out a military operation targeting a vital target of the Israeli enemy in Tel Aviv, using a hypersonic ballistic missile,” Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement aired by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.
“The operation achieved its goal successfully,” he said, adding that his group also carried out an attack using four drones and targeted “vital targets” in Tel Aviv.
Sarea vowed that his group’s attacks against Israel “will continue until aggression on Gaza Strip” stops.
The attack came after Houthi forces launched a drone and a ballistic missile toward Israel, both of which were intercepted, Xinhua news agency reported.
On Monday, Israeli media reported the interception of a “missile launched from Yemen” which disrupted air traffic in Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.
Earlier, the Houthi group had also issued a statement that it had launched a new missile and drone attack against the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier in the northern Red Sea, claiming the attack lasted nine hours.
“This is the fifth time we targeted the aircraft carrier since its arrival in the Red Sea,” Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in the statement aired by the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV on Saturday night.
“The operation achieved its goals successfully and forced the aircraft carrier to leave the theatre of operations and flee to the far north of the Red Sea,” he said.
Since November 2023, the Houthis have been carrying out missile and drone attacks on Israel and disrupting “Israeli-linked” shipping in the Red Sea in solidarity with Palestinians amid their ongoing conflict with Israelis in the Gaza Strip.
–IANS
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