Houthi missile strikes central Israel for the first time!

For the first time, a missile fired by Yemeni Houthi rebels has reached central Israel. The missile was launched yesterday, Sunday. In response to this incident, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Iran-backed Houthis will pay a heavy price for this.

Yahya Sarea, the military spokesperson for the Houthi rebels, said that the missile that reached central Israel is a new hypersonic ballistic missile. It took only 11 and a half minutes for the missile to reach its target, 2,040 kilometers away.

An Israeli military official said that the missile was intercepted and fragmented in the air using air defense systems. However, it was not completely destroyed.

Shortly before the missile reached its target, around 6:35 AM local time, air raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and central Israel. Residents quickly moved to safe shelters. A loud explosion was heard.

Fragments of the missile fell on the ground and near a railway station. There were no direct casualties from this incident. However, 9 people were slightly injured while rushing to safe shelters. Reuters news agency reporters saw smoke rising from an open field in central Israel.

At the weekly cabinet meeting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, 

“The Houthis should have known that Israel can exact a heavy price if attacked.”

Since the start of the war in Gaza last October, Houthi rebels have repeatedly launched drones and missiles targeting Israel. The armed group claims these attacks are carried out in solidarity with the Palestinians.

Last July, the Houthis carried out their first drone attack on Tel Aviv. One person was killed and four were injured in that attack. In response, Israel conducted airstrikes targeting Houthi rebels near the port of Hodeidah in Yemen. Six people were killed and 80 were injured in that attack.

Never before has a Houthi-fired missile been able to penetrate so deep into Israeli airspace.

Yahya Sarea, spokesperson for the Houthi military wing, said that Israel could expect more attacks in the future in response to the one-year anniversary of the October 7 war (Gaza war) and the attack on Hodeidah port.Nasruddin Amer, deputy head of the Houthi media office, posted on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) yesterday. He wrote that after intercepting 20 missiles, one missile managed to reach Israel. He referred to this as the ‘beginning’.