Houthi group claims its new hypersonic missile managed to evade Israel’s air defence systems as Gaza war enters 12th month.
A long-range ballistic missile fired from Yemen has hit central Israel, sparking fire, according to the Israeli military.
The missile triggered air raid sirens in Tel Aviv and across central Israel, including the Ben Gurion international airport, sending residents running for shelter. There were no reports of casualties or damage, and the airport authority said normal operations resumed shortly after.
They also showed images of a fragment that landed on an escalator in a train station in the central town of Modiin.
“Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in central Israel, a surface-to-surface missile was identified crossing into central Israel from the east and fell in an open area. No injuries were reported,” the military said.
Magen David Adom, Israel’s emergency services, said in a post on X that nine people had suffered minor injuries as they sought shelter.
Loud booms were also heard in the region, which the military said came from Israeli missile interceptors.
It added that its protective guidelines for Israel’s residents were unchanged.
Houthis’ Saba news agency said the Israeli defence system could not shoot down the Yemeni missile, which caused a fire.
“A Yemeni missile reached Israel after ’20 missiles failed to intercept’ it,” Nasruddin Amer, a Houthi media official, posted on X.
The group’s military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, announced that it had “targeted a military position of the Israeli enemy in the Jaffa area” with a “new hypersonic ballistic missile” that had managed to evade Israel’s air defence systems.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the start of a cabinet meeting on Sunday that the Houthis “should have known by now that we charge a heavy price for any attempt to harm us,” according to a statement from his office.
Houthis’ ‘campaign of solidarity’
The Houthi group, also known as Ansar Allah (supporters of God), controls most parts of Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa.
It has been attacking Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, the Bab al-Mandeb strait, since November in what it says is a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians and against Israel’s continuing war on Gaza.
This has forced shipping firms to reroute vessels to longer and more expensive journeys around Southern Africa.
A United States-led military coalition has been bombing Houthi targets since January, but the Yemeni group has continued its attacks.
The group has also fired drones and missiles from across the Red Sea towards Eilat, a southern Israeli port city.
In June, the group’s military spokesperson Yahya Saree said it had launched two joint military operations with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq against ships at Israel’s Haifa port.
In July, Houthis in Yemen fired a long-range drone at Tel Aviv, killing one man and wounding four others.
Israel subsequently carried out a major air strike on Houthi military targets near Yemen’s Hodeidah port, killing at least three people and wounding 87.