The U.S. military announced Saturday it had carried out strikes on Houthi military facilities in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, where explosions were reported by an AFP correspondent. The attack came hours after Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for firing a missile into central Israel, a key U.S. ally, injuring 16 people.
The strikes targeted "a missile storage facility and a command center operated by the Iran-backed Houthis,"according to U.S. Central Command (Centcom) in a statement on X. Centcom also reported intercepting rebel drones and cruise missiles over the Red Sea.
The Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah TV network confirmed an "aggression" in Sanaa’s Attan district, where AFP reporters noted multiple explosions in the rebel-held city.
Earlier, the Houthis said they launched a "Palestine 2 hypersonic ballistic missile" at a "military target of the Israeli enemy" in Jaffa, southern Tel Aviv.
'Like a movie'
Since the war’s escalation following Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Iran-backed Houthis have launched repeated assaults on Israel, which has responded with retaliatory strikes.
The rebels stated the latest attack was in response to "massacres against the people of Gaza" and "Israeli aggression" against Yemen.
Israeli emergency services reported receiving alerts at 3:48 a.m. local time of a strike in Jaffa, deploying significant resources to the site. 16 people sustained minor injuries, mainly from shattered glass, including a three-year-old girl, who were transported to two Tel Aviv hospitals.
"An alarm sounded just before 4 a.m., and suddenly a massive fireball lit up the sky, like something out of a movie," said Ido Barnea, whose apartment was damaged.
"We were lucky because we didn’t have time to find shelter, " added another resident, Noa Mosseri. "We heard a loud boom seconds after the alarm."
Israeli threats
The missile left a crater in a kindergarten yard. Broken windows and debris forced residents to evacuate quickly as police secured the area.
Two days earlier, the Houthis launched a missile at Israel, causing significant damage to a school in Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv due to a "partial interception," according to the Israeli military.
In response, Israeli forces bombed Yemeni ports and Houthi energy infrastructure, killing nine rebels, according to their leader.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a warning to the Houthis in a video statement, saying, "Those who attack Israel will pay a heavy price."
Most Houthi attacks on Israel have been intercepted or caused minor damage. However, a July drone strike killed an Israeli civilian in Tel Aviv, prompting retaliatory airstrikes on Hodeida, which killed six and caused significant destruction.
The Houthis, who control large areas of Yemen, including Sanaa, frequently target vessels linked to Israel, the U.S., or the U.K. in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, despite U.S. military strikes with occasional British assistance. They are part of what Iran calls the "axis of resistance," which includes Hamas, Iraqi factions and Hezbollah.