Sirens were set off overnight in central Israel amid missile attack, but IDF says it is not aware of a drone ostensibly fired at southern city
Fighters loyal to Yemen's Houthi rebel group chant slogans in a military parade marking the anniversary of their 2014 takeover of the capital Sanaa and in solidarity with the Palestinian people, in Sana'a on September 21, 2024. (Osama ABDULRAHMAN / AFP)
The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen claimed responsibility Friday for an overnight attack that set off sirens across central Israel, saying it had launched a ballistic missile at a military target in Tel Aviv as well as a drone at a “vital target” in the southern coastal city of Ashkelon.
While Israel had earlier accused the Houthis of the missile attack, which was intercepted outside Israeli borders, the IDF said it was unaware of any drone reaching Israel overnight.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces will carry out more military operations against the Israeli enemy in triumph for the blood of our people in Palestine and Lebanon, and will not stop supportive military operations during the coming days until the Israeli aggression on Gaza and Lebanon stops,” Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree vowed in a statement.
A Houthi official hinted that the attack was in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike Thursday that killed senior Hezbollah commander Mohammed Srur, head of Hezbollah’s aerial forces, whose death was confirmed by the Lebanese terror group shortly before the sirens sounded in Israel.
The strike targeting Srur was the fourth in a week targeting Hezbollah commanders in the densely populated southern suburbs of Beirut, one of the Shiite terror group’s strongholds, with fighting between Israel and Hezbollah intensifying after nearly a year of cross-border attacks by the group and Israeli counterattacks.
Srur was among several top advisers sent by Hezbollah to Yemen to train the Houthis, who are also backed by Iran, a source close to Hezbollah told AFP.
A projectile is seen in the skies over Israel early September 27, 2024, as the military said it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen using the Arrow long-range air defense system. (X screenshot, used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law)
Later on Friday, the Houthis said they targeted three US destroyers in the Red Sea with 23 ballistic and winged missiles and a drone.
Yemen’s Houthis have fired over 220 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones at Israel over the past 11 months — mostly toward the southernmost city of Eilat — saying, similarly to Hezbollah, that the attacks are in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has been battling Hamas since the terror group’s October 7 attack.
The Yemeni rebels have also launched several attacks targeting Tel Aviv, including a surface-to-surface missile earlier this month and a drone in July that killed a man at his apartment.
Following the deadly drone attack, Israel struck the main harbor in Yemen controlled by the Houthis, causing extensive damage.
