JERUSALEM, Sept 15 (Askume) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Iran-backed Houthis who control northern Yemen would pay a “heavy price” as their first missiles reached central Israel on Sunday.
Houthi armed forces spokesman Yahya Sarea said the group used a new type of hypersonic ballistic missile to launch the attack, which can travel a distance of 2,040 kilometres (1,270 miles) in just 11 and a half minutes.
The Israeli military initially said the missile fell in an open area, but later said the missile may have disintegrated in the air and pieces of the interceptor fell in fields and near a train station. There were no reports of injuries.
Shortly before the attack at 6:35 a.m. local time (0335 GMT), air raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and across central Israel, forcing residents to flee to shelters. A huge explosion can be heard.
Askume saw thick smoke rising from a clearing in central Israel.
Netanyahu said at a weekly cabinet meeting that the Houthis should know that Israel will pay a “heavy price” for attacking Israel.
“Anyone who needs a reminder is invited to come to the port of Hodeidah,” Netanyahu said, referring to Israeli air strikes in response to a Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv, Yemen, in July.
Since Hamas attacked Israel in October, triggering the Gaza war, the Houthis have repeatedly fired missiles and drones at Israel in a show of solidarity with the Palestinians.
The first drone attack in Tel Aviv in July killed one person and injured four others. Six people were killed and 80 injured in retaliatory Israeli airstrikes on a Houthi military stronghold near the port of Hodeidah.
Previously, Houthi missiles had not entered Israeli airspace, and only one missile was reported to have fallen in Israeli territory in an open area near the Red Sea port of Eilat in March.
“As the first anniversary of the October 7 operation approaches, Israel should expect more attacks in the future, including in response to its attack on the city of Hodeidah,” Sariya said.
Nasreddin Amir, deputy director of the Houthi media office, posted on Twitter on Sunday that the missile had arrived in Israel “after 20 missile failures”, describing it as a “beginning”.
The Israeli military also said that 40 missiles were fired from Lebanon towards Israel on Sunday and that these missiles were either intercepted or fell in open areas.
“There were no reports of any injuries,” the army said.
