Illustrative image (The Israeli Defense Forces)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatens the Houthis (Ansar Allah) after a missile launched from Yemen hit central Israel on September 15.
“The Houthis should have known by now that we exact a heavy price for any attempt to harm us,” he said at the beginning of the weekly cabinet meeting. “Those who need a reminder are welcome to visit the port of al-Hodeida.”
Israel launched an attack on the Yemen Red Sea port, which is controlled by the Houthis, on July 20, just a day after a suicide drone launched by the group struck the city of Tel Aviv in central Israel, killing a man and wounding several other people.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for the new missile attack, saying that they launched a hypersonic ballistic missile at a military target near Tel Aviv in response to the Israeli war and siege on the Palestinian enclave of the Gaza Strip.
“Anyone who attacks us will not escape our reach,” Netanyahu threatened. “Hamas is already learning this” he adds, vowing that the Gazan group will be destroyed and will free the hostages it holds.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said that it made several attempts to intercept the Houthi missile, though the results of these attempts are still being investigated. The missile broke apart in the air, according to an initial probe by the military.
The IDF attempted to shoot down the missile using both the Arrow long-range missile defense system and the Iron Dome system, which is usually used for shorter-range rocket attacks.
“From a preliminary examination, it appears that the missile apparently disintegrated in the air,” the IDF said.
The missile was launched from Yemen at around 6:21 a.m., and sirens sounded across central Israel at 6:32 a.m. According to the Houthis, the missile reached Israel in 11 minutes and 30 seconds. Shrapnel from the missile and the interceptors impacted open areas in the Ben Shemen forest, close to the settlement of Kfar Daniel as well as at a train station near the settlement of Modiin and an industrial facility close to the settlement of Ramla. No serious injuries were reported.
The Houthis, who are backed by Iran, have been waging a military campaign against Israel since the outbreak of the war on Gaza last October, targeting merchant vessels linked to the country and launching direct strikes against its territory using drones and missiles.
Netanyahu’s threat will not likely faze the Houthis, who endured hundreds of strikes by the United States and the United Kingdom over the last ten months in addition to the Israeli attack on the port of al-Hodeida.
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