Illustrative image. (The Houthis’ Military Media)
The Houthis (Ansar Allah) launched on May 27 morning two ballistic missiles from Yemen at central Israel in response to the war on the Gaza Strip.
One of the missiles, a Palestine-2, targeted Ben Gurion Airport, Houthi military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree said in a statement, noting that the other missile, a Zulfiqar, was aimed at “a vital target” located to the east of the city of Tel Aviv.
The Palestine-2 is a two-stage solid-fueled hypersonic missile that appears to be derivative from Iran’s first hypersonic missile Fattah-1. It has a range of over 2,150 kilometers and a top speed equivalent to 16 times the speed of sound, according to the Houthis.
The older Zulfiqar is a single stage liquid-propellant missile with a detachable warhead. It is thought to be an improved copy of the Iranian-made Rezvan with a range of over 2,000 kilometers.
“The operation successfully achieved its goal, thanks to God, causing millions of usurping Zionists to flee to shelters and bringing airport operations to a standstill,” the spokesman said.
“Our operations, with God’s help, are continuing, and we are working, with trust in God, to escalate them. They will not cease until the aggression against Gaza stops and the siege is lifted,” he added.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said that both missiles were intercepted by air defenses. The first missile set off sirens shortly after 5 a.m. local times in several northern West Bank and Jordan Valley settlements, before being shot down.
The second missile was intercepted at around 7:30 a.m. No sirens were activated “according to protocol,” according to the IDF.
Since March 18, when the IDF resumed its offensive against Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis have launched 41 ballistic missiles and at least 10 suicide drones at Israel.
Only one of the missiles managed to reach its target, hitting Ben Gurion on May 4. The IDF resumed strikes on Yemen after the attack. Around the same time, the United States halted an operation launched in mid-March against the Houthis, leaving Israel on its own.
In recent weeks, at least three waves of Israeli strikes hit infrastructure in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, from the ports in al-Hodeidah, to cement factories, power stations and Sanaa International Airport in the Yemeni capital. The strikes caused casualties and heavy damage, but clearly failed to deter the Houthis.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence
NOW hosted at southfront.press
Previously, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.org.
The .org domain name had been blocked by the US (NATO) (https://southfront.press/southfront-org-blocked-by-u-s-controlled-global-internet-supervisor/) globally, outlawed and without any explanation
Back before that, from 2013 to 2015, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.com
