Yemen’s Houthis claim new attack on Israel amid escalation

Yemen’s Houthis said on Sunday they had attacked “important targets” in Israel, a day after the Israeli military confirmed strikes in the militia-controlled port city of Hodeidah, fuelling regional escalation.

The attack on Hodeidah in western Yemen followed a Houthi strike in Tel Aviv on Friday in what the Iranian-allied militia said was retaliation for Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip.

Houthi military spokesman Yehya Saree said on Sunday the group had fired ballistic missiles at “important targets” in Eilat in southern Israel.

“The operation has achieved its goals successfully,” he added in a televised statement, without elaborating.

The Israeli army said it had “successfully” intercepted a surface-to-surface missile that approached Israel from Yemen.

“Rocket and missile sirens were sounded following the possibility of falling shrapnel. The incident has concluded,” the Israeli army added.

The militia’s chief, Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, on Sunday sounded defiant: “The Israeli aggression on our country will contribute to escalating our operations against it and developing our capabilities,” he said in a televised address.

“We are very happy about the direct battle between us and the Israeli enemy,” he added.

“In this battle, we are stronger than before. Capabilities are constantly developed to face challenges at any level.”

Al-Houthi said the drone which targeted Tel Aviv on Friday was developed and launched by Yemenis, implicitly denying claims it had been provided to his group by Iran.

He added that targeting Tel Aviv marked a new phase of escalation.

“The Israeli enemy won’t have deterrence and will not restore it towards our [pro-Palestinian] support operations. The results will be more escalation and targeting,” he said.

The Houthis said at least six people were killed in the Israeli airstrikes in Hodeidah.

The militia’s mouthpiece, the al-Masirah television broadcaster, citing the Houthi-controlled health ministry, reported that the Israeli attack had targeted civilian facilities in Hodeidah, leaving six people dead, three others missing and 83 injured. Initially it had reported three were killed.

Houthi militants have also been attacking ships in the Red Sea and said they want to force an end to the Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, which followed the unprecedented massacre by the Palestinian Islamist organization Hamas in Israel in October.