Israel targeted by missile strike claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, without causing any casualties according to the Israeli army

A missile claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeted central Israel in the Shephelah region on Sunday, September 15, without causing any casualties, according to the army. The army said the ground-to-ground missile was fired “taken from Yemen” and is “fell into an open area”. Before specifying that the missile had “probably disintegrated”according to a preliminary investigation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, has warned that the Houthis will pay “a heavy price” after their “attempt to harm” to Israel. These rebels have already launched several attacks against Israel, claiming to act in solidarity with the Palestinians, since the start of the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip triggered by the Hamas terrorist attack against Israel on October 7, 2023.

The Houthis claimed Sunday’s operation was aimed at a military target. “in the Yafa region [le nom arabe de Jaffa], in occupied Palestine. Yahya Saree, the Houthi military spokesman, reading a statement, said the attack was “carried out with a new hypersonic ballistic missile that managed to reach its target, without the enemy’s defense systems being able to intercept it”Hamas, for its part, welcomed the missile launch on Sunday, saying that Israel “will not be safe until he stops his aggression” in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli police reported the fall of a “fragment of an interceptor missile” in the Shephelah region (central). At the time of the attack, sirens sounded in central Israel, and many people rushed to shelters in the Tel Aviv area, according to Israeli media. Rescuers were extinguishing a fire in the morning near the city of Lod (central), caused by falling debris from the missile, according to an Agence France-Presse photographer.

Houthis promise ‘more strikes’ against Israel

In their statement released on Sunday, the Houthis said that “The Israeli enemy must expect further strikes (…) as we approach the first anniversary of the blessed operation of October 7th ».

The Houthis are part of what Israel’s enemy Iran calls the“axis of resistance”which includes other Hamas allies such as Iraqi groups and the powerful Lebanese Hezbollah. For months, the Houthi rebels have been targeting ships they believe to be linked to Israel, the United States or the United Kingdom in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, disrupting traffic in this maritime zone essential for global trade.

After the shooting, Mr Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel was leading “a multi-level campaign against Iran’s axis of evil that is trying to destroy us.” “The status quo cannot continue. We must change the balance of power on our northern border.”he added.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army is continuing its offensive in the Gaza Strip, where several nighttime airstrikes and artillery fire have been reported, according to AFP journalists and the Gaza Civil Defense. At least twenty-four people have been killed there in the last twenty-four hours, according to the Hamas government’s health ministry.