JERUSALEM, Sept 15 (Reuters) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would inflict a “heavy price” on the Iran-aligned Houthis who control northern Yemen, after they reached central Israel with a missile on Sunday for the first time.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said the group struck with a new hypersonic ballistic missile that travelled 2,040 km (1270 miles) in just 11 1/2 minutes.
An Israeli military official said the missile was hit by an interceptor and fragmented in the air, rather than being completely destroyed.Air raid sirens had sounded in Tel Aviv and across central Israel moments before the impact at around 6:35 a.m. local time (0335 GMT), sending residents running for shelter. Loud booms were heard.
Missile pieces landed in fields and near a railway station. There were no direct casualties, but nine people were lightly hurt while seeking cover. Reuters saw smoke billowing in an open field in central Israel.At a weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said the Houthis should have known that Israel would exact a “heavy price” for attacks on Israel. One wrote: “If you ever want to see how far boxing has sold out, look no further than Wembley tonight, where two English boxers, who are fighting in the capital of England, in front of 90,000 English people… are currently listening to the Saudi national anthem.”Another added: “As if the Saudi Arabian branding all over the Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois fight wasn’t mad enough, playing the Saudi Arabian national anthem at Wembley before the fight is absolutely insane. Sportswashing at its worst.”
Read more: Houthi missile reaches central Israel for first time, no injuries reported