Protesters in Sanaa, Yemen, during a demonstration in solidarity with Gaza on Jan. 3, 2025. (Credit: Mohammed Huwais/ AFP Photo)
The Israeli army announced early Sunday that it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen before it entered Israeli territory. The strike was claimed by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
“Following alert sirens in Talmei Elazar [northern Israel], a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted before entering Israeli airspace,” the army said in a statement on Telegram.
Later, the Yemeni rebels claimed responsibility for the attack. The military operation targeted “the Orot Rabin power plant linked to the Israeli enemy in southern Haifa” and was carried out using “a hypersonic ballistic missile,” Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said.
The Houthis have intensified missile and drone attacks against Israel since the Gaza war began on Oct. 7, 2023, following an unprecedented assault by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israeli territory. The Houthis claim to be acting in solidarity with the Palestinians.
On Friday, the Israeli army said it intercepted a missile and a drone from Yemen, both claimed by the Houthis, who control large swaths of territory in Yemen. In response, Israel conducted two airstrikes in Yemen.
The Houthis have also targeted vessels linked to Israel, the United States and the United Kingdom navigating the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
These attacks have disrupted traffic in the strategic maritime zone, prompting the United States to form an international maritime coalition and carry out airstrikes on rebel targets in Yemen, sometimes with British assistance.
On Sunday morning, Houthi-affiliated media outlets Saba News Agency and Al-Masirah TV reported “three raids” by U.S. and British forces east of Saada, a rebel stronghold in northwestern Yemen. No casualties or damage were immediately reported.
The U.S. and U.K. have yet to comment on the reports.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei condemned the “U.S. and British airstrikes” in Yemen.
On Tuesday, Washington said it had conducted strikes on Houthi military targets, including in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. Houthi spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam denounced the strikes as “American aggression,” calling them “a blatant violation of the sovereignty of an independent state and clear support for Israel.”
