Rebel group claims what would be first missile to have landed in Israel from Yemen, but no reports of casualties.
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has warned Yemen’s Houthi rebels will pay a “heavy price” after the group claimed its first ballistic missile strike on Israel and its leader warned of bigger attacks to come.
The missile – claimed by the Houthis as an advanced surface-to-surface hypersonic missile – triggered air sirens across the country at about 6.30am, and local media aired footage of people racing to shelters at Ben Gurion international airport south-east of Tel Aviv. According to reports, it hit an open area in the Ben Shemen forest, causing a fire near Kfar Daniel. There were no reports of casualties or damage.
The Israeli military is investigating whether the fire was the result of falling fragments caused by the interceptor missiles launched at the projectile, or if it successfully penetrated Israeli air defences as the Houthis have claimed.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that interceptors from Israel’s Iron Dome and Arrow air defence systems were deployed but said it had not yet determined whether any had been successful. It said an “initial inquiry indicates the missile most likely fragmented in mid-air [after] several interception attempts”, adding that “the entire incident is under review”.
Netanyahu hinted at a military response in a statement released at the start of a cabinet meeting on Sunday. “This morning, the Houthis launched a surface-to-surface missile from Yemen into our territory. They should have known by now that we charge a heavy price for any attempt to harm us,” he said.
“Those who need a reminder in this matter are invited to visit the port of Hodeidah,” he added, referring to Yemen’s Red Sea city, which Israeli warplanes bombed in July after the Houthis claimed a drone strike that killed a civilian in Tel Aviv.
The Houthi leader, Abdul-Malek al-Houthi, warned on Sunday of further attacks on Israel. “The operation our forces carried out today with an advanced Yemeni missile is part of the fifth stage of the escalation. What is to come will be greater,” he said in a speech.
Nasruddin Amer, the deputy head of the Houthi media office, described the attack as the “beginning”, claiming in a post on X that a Yemeni missile had reached Israel after “20 missiles failed to intercept”. A Houthi military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said a “new hypersonic ballistic missile” had been aimed towards an Israeli military target, which crossed 1,270 miles in 11 minutes and which the IDF failed to intercept, while another senior Houthi official, Hezam al-Asad, posted a taunting message in Hebrew on X.
Read More: Netanyahu tells Houthis they will pay ‘heavy price’ as missile hits Israel