Houthi rebels claim missile attack on Israeli city

Sana’a/Jerusalem (Uttam Hindu News): The Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen has claimed responsibility for attacking the southern Israeli city of Eilat with long-range ballistic missiles in response to the ongoing bombing in the Gaza Strip. In a televised statement on Thursday, Houthi military spokesman Yehya Sariya said the missiles hit various sensitive targets, including military positions in Eilat, Xinhua news agency reported.

He said, “The operation was successful and direct attacks were carried out on the selected targets without any regard for keeping the matter secret by the enemy. “Yemeni armed forces will continue their operations in Gaza until Israeli aggression there stops,” Sariya said.

In separate press conferences Thursday night, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant and Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari both said they were still monitoring the incident. It is the sixth cross-border attack claimed by the Houthi militia since the Israel-Hamas conflict began on October 7.

On Wednesday, the Houthis shot down a US drone near Yemen’s Red Sea port city of Hodeidah. The same day, Israel said it intercepted a missile launched toward the country from the Red Sea region using the Arrow 3 anti-ballistic missile system. The Israeli military claimed that the Arrow 3 is “one of the most advanced air and missile defense systems of its kind in the world”. Last week, the IDF said it used the Arrow 2 system to successfully intercept a missile fired from the Red Sea region.