Houthi missile triggers sirens in central Israel, is downed en route
Iran-backed rebel group says it clashed with US aircraft carrier 3 times in past day, as round of airstrikes said to target rebel-held districts in western Yemen
A ballistic missile launched at Israel by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen was successfully intercepted by air defenses Sunday morning, hours after the rebels claimed they had targeted an American aircraft carrier in the Red Sea.
The Israel Defense Forces said the missile aimed at Israel was shot down before crossing the country’s borders.
Sirens had sounded across central Israel, in several towns near Jerusalem, and in some West Bank settlements.
Medics said a 42-year-old woman was moderately injured when she fell from a significant height into a ditch at the side of the Route 1 highway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem while seeking shelter during the alert.
She was taken to a hospital in Tel Aviv with injuries to her limbs and back, the Magen David Adom emergency service said.
It was at least the eighth Houthi attack on Israel since March 18, when the IDF resumed its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. All of the missiles fired since then have been intercepted without causing significant damage.
Earlier, in a statement Sunday morning, Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said the group clashed with the USS Harry S. Truman three times in the preceding 24 hours, using missiles, drones, and naval forces. The Houthis vowed to keep “supporting the oppressed Palestinian people until the aggression against Gaza is stopped.”
The statement did not mention airstrikes reported some seven hours earlier by the Houthi-owned Al-Masirah network. According to the network, at least four US airstrikes hit the Saada governate, in the country’s northwest, minutes before 1 a.m. Some 30 minutes later, the network reported three US airstrikes on the Bani Matar district, just west of the Houthi-held capital Sanaa, in the country’s west.
The network did not report on casualties or the extent of the damage. The US Central Command has not issued a statement on social media about either the statement or the reported airstrikes.
US airstrikes had pounded Yemen overnight between Friday and Saturday, reportedly killing at least one person as the US military acknowledged having bombed a major military site in the heart of Sanaa.
An Associated Press review has found the new American operation under US President Donald Trump appears more extensive than those under former president Joe Biden, as the US moves from solely targeting launch sites to firing at ranking personnel as well as dropping bombs in cities.
The new campaign of airstrikes started after the rebels threatened to resume attacks on “any Israeli vessel” in nearby maritime routes, in response to the Israeli-imposed halt of humanitarian aid to Gaza, though the rebels have in the past also targeted ships with no known connection to Israel.
Houthis began attacking Israel and Red Sea shipping in November 2023 — a month after fellow Iran-backed group Hamas stormed southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, taking 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.
The Houthi attacks had paused following the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal in January. The deal’s first phase expired on March 2 amid Israel’s refusal to negotiate a second phase, and Israel resumed its attacks in Gaza on March 18.
Before they paused their attacks, the Houthis had targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors. The Houthis launched missiles and drones at Israel, killing one person and injuring several others in a drone strike on Tel Aviv in July.
The attacks on shipping greatly raised the Houthis’ profile as they contended with economic problems and launched a crackdown targeting any dissent and aid workers at home amid Yemen’s decade-long stalemated war, which has torn apart the Arab world’s poorest nation.
The Houthis have begun threatening both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two American allies in the region, over the US strikes. That’s even as the nations that have sought a separate peace with the Houthis have stayed out of the new US airstrike campaign.
The renewed airstrike campaign has become a source of controversy in domestic US politics after a journalist, inexplicably added to a chat group of Trump’s national security team, reported that top White House officials had used a commercial application to discuss a March 15 strike, two hours before it took place.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.