By Adam Rasgon
The Houthi militia in Yemen claimed responsibility Sunday for a rare missile attack on Israel, the second time in two months that the Iranian-backed group has successfully penetrated the skies over the central part of the country.
The assault was the latest illustration of the evolving conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Iranian proxies, which have mounted attacks on Israeli territory in what they have said is solidarity with Palestinians under bombardment in the Gaza Strip. It also demonstrated the military capabilities of the Houthis, based hundreds of miles from Israel on the southern edge of the Arabian Peninsula.
Air-raid sirens blared in dozens of towns and villages in central Israel around 6:30 a.m. Sunday, sending people rushing to fortified safe rooms and bomb shelters.
The Israeli military initially said the Houthis had fired a surface-to-surface missile that landed in an “open area” and that no casualties were reported. In a follow-up statement, the military said an initial inquiry indicated the missile had “fragmented midair” and that it was reviewing its attempts to intercept the strike.
Later Sunday, an Israeli military official said that a review had concluded that the missile was intercepted, breaking it into parts but not destroying it. The military did not provide a name for the official, citing protocols.
Yahya Sarea, a Houthi military spokesperson, said the armed group had fired a ballistic missile at what he claimed was a military target in central Israel. His claims could not be independently verified.
“The enemy should expect more strikes and quality operations,” Sarea said in a televised statement.
The goal of the attack, said Nasruddin Amer, another Houthi spokesperson, was to pressure Israel to end the war in Gaza.
“The problem is in Gaza and the solution is in Gaza,” Amer said in a text message.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested his country would respond to the attack, which he cast as part of a wider “battle against Iran’s axis of evil that is striving to destroy us.”
“They should have known by now that we exact a heavy price for any attempt to harm us,” he said, referring to the Houthis, at the start of a government meeting.
Hamas in Gaza is one of several armed groups in the region that are backed by Iran, including the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Abu Obeida, a spokesperson for Hamas’ armed wing, welcomed the Houthi missile launch.
According to a Biden administration official, the weapon used by the Houthis on Sunday did not constitute a new capability for the armed group.
Since Israel started bombing Gaza in response to the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack, some of Iran’s regional proxies have launched attacks on Israeli interests and prompted fears of a widening war.
The Houthis are a Yemeni Shiite militia that over the past decade seized control of large parts of western Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa, and the Red Sea coastline. While the group’s opposition to Israel long preceded the war in Gaza, the Houthis had rarely attacked Israeli interests before October last year.
Mohammed Albasha, a senior Middle East expert at Navanti Group, a U.S.-based research organization, said the Houthis’ attacks on Israel were part of an attempt to cast itself as a defender of the Muslim world.
“The Houthis’ narrative is changing,” he said. “They no longer see themselves as just a local, national Yemeni group.”
Since November, the Houthis have menaced ships in the Red Sea that they claim have links to Israel. In response, the United States, Britain and other allies of Israel have attacked Houthi weapons depots, missile systems and radar facilities in Yemen.
On July 19, the Houthis launched a drone attack on Tel Aviv, Israel, that crashed into a building near the U.S. Embassy, killing one person and wounding several others.
A day later, Israeli fighter jets bombed the Red Sea port of Hodeida, which is controlled by the Houthis. The strikes in Hodeida killed three people and injured 87, according to the Health Ministry in Sanaa, which the Houthis control.
Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese militant group, started firing across the border into Israel on Oct 8. Since then, it has traded near-daily fire with the Israeli military and the tit-for-tat strikes have led to widespread destruction and large-scale evacuations on both sides of the border.
On Sunday, Israel’s military said that about 40 projectiles had entered the country from Lebanese territory at about 8 a.m. Some fell in open areas, the military said, and others were intercepted. No injuries were reported.
In a statement, Hezbollah said it had fired dozens of rockets in response to recent Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon and in support of the Palestinian people and their “resistance.”
The war in Gaza is now in its 12th month, with no apparent end in sight despite efforts by international mediators — including the United States — to secure a cease-fire and the release of hostages held in the enclave.
Netanyahu and Yahya Sinwar, the newly chosen political leader of Hamas, have been seen as the two most important figures to securing — or impeding — any potential truce.
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