dpa
Sana’a
The Iranian-backed Houthi militia in Yemen on Tuesday claimed to have attacked the international airport in Tel Aviv as well as targets in Jerusalem.
Houthi military spokesman Yehya Saree said in a televised statement that Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport and an electricity plant in the Jerusalem area had been attacked with ballistic missiles.
He also claimed that a “major air attack” by the US military with drones and cruise missiles had been repelled.
“We are ready to confront any Zionist-American threats aimed at preventing Yemen from fulfilling its religious, moral and humanitarian duty towards Palestine,” the military spokesman said.
Late Monday the Houthi-affiliated television channel al-Masirah reported that a US-British “aggression” had targeted the Al-Tuhayta District, south of Hodeidah.
The Israeli military said that its air defences had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen.
Hundreds of thousands of people rushed to shelters shortly before midnight when sirens sounded in the coastal city of Tel Aviv and other places in central Israel.
The missile was intercepted outside Israel’s borders, it said.
According to local media, falling rocket debris did not cause any major damage, but a large fragment hit a road in a town near Jerusalem.
Since the onset of the Gaza war more than a year ago, Yemen’s Houthis have targeted Israel with missile and drone attacks.
The Houthis are allied with Israel’s arch-enemy Iran, like Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia. The Houthi militants have also been attacking ships in the Red Sea, saying the attacks are intended to support the Palestinian Islamist Hamas group and force an end to the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.
