Houthis fire missile from Yemen into central Israel, warn of more strikes

Firefighters try to extinguish the fires as nine Israelis were injured with minor wounds following the launch of a surface-to-surface missile from Yemen towards Lod, Israel, according to the Israeli army, on September 15. Photo / Getty Images

Yemen’s Houthi militia claimed responsibility for a surface-to-surface missile attack targeting central Israel on Sunday morning, marking a continued escalation between the Iran-backed group and Israel.

The missile caused no direct injuries, Israel said, though the country’s Magen David Adom emergency services said it was treating nine people who were injured on their way to shelters after sirens sounded.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree described it as a “hypersonic ballistic missile” targeting military operations. The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that the missile was hit by an interceptor, “as a result of which the target fragmented but was not destroyed”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opened a Cabinet meeting by declaring Israel in a “a multi-front campaign against Iran’s axis of evil, which is striving for our destruction”. The Houthis, he said, “should have known by now that we exact a heavy price for any attempt to harm us”.

The vast majority of drones and missiles fired by the Houthis – a militant group that has been targeting ships off Yemen’s coastline since October in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza – have been intercepted over the Red Sea. But in July, a Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv killed one person and injured 10, just yards from a US Embassy branch office, showing that the group was capable of penetrating a major Israeli city.

Israel retaliated then with airstrikes on Hodeida, a Yemeni port city that is controlled by the Houthis, sparking massive fires at a hub for imports. Netanyahu referenced Hodeida in his remarks on Sunday, saying that it served as a reminder of the damage Israel’s military could inflict.

Waves of US and British airstrikes carried out since January against Houthi targets in Yemen have failed to deter the group. The Houthis issued a statement on Telegram warning that Israel should expect more attacks ahead of the anniversary of Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel.

On Sunday, the IDF said fragments of the air-defence missiles launched in response to the Houthi strike landed at a rail station and in open areas, adding that a fire erupted next to Kfar Daniel, about 16km from Ben Gurion Airport.

The IDF said about 40 projectiles were also fired from Lebanon into northern Israel early on Sunday, but were intercepted or fell in open areas. Hezbollah militants began striking Israel on October 8 and have been trading near-daily fire with the IDF for 11 months, displacing tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border.

Netanyahu said on Sunday that he had visited the north and heard the “distress” and “anguish” of residents there.

“The current situation will not continue,” he said. “This requires a change in the balance of forces on our northern border. We will do whatever is necessary to return our residents securely to their homes.”

Here’s what else to know

- The IDF on Sunday said there was a “high probability” that three hostages died last year as a result of an IDF airstrike targeting a Hamas commander. The bodies of Nik Beizer, Ron Sherman and Elia Toledano were recovered on December 14, and the airstrike took place on November 10. The assessment, provided to the families of the hostages, found they were being held in the same tunnel complex as Hamas’ Northern Brigade commander Ahmed Ghandour, which Israeli officials said they did not know at the time of the strike.

- Leaflets dropped by the Israeli military over parts of southern Lebanon directing residents to flee set off a short-lived panic on Sunday. The leaflets, addressed to residents and displaced people in several border regions, warned them to evacuate north by 4pm local time Sunday because Hezbollah was firing from the areas and said anyone remaining would be considered a terrorist. The IDF later said that it had not issued evacuation orders for southern Lebanon, and that the flyers, which were distributed by a northern military division, were “not approved”, adding that the matter was under investigation.

- An Israeli border control officer was stabbed in Jerusalem’s Old City on Sunday, according to police, who said the officer was being treated for minor injuries. A spokesman for the border police, known as Magav, said the stabbing happened near Damascus Gate and the attacker “tried to escape into the Old City” but was shot and wounded by forces at the scene.

A funeral for Aysenur Eygi, a Turkish American activist who was killed September 6 at a West Bank demonstration, was held Saturday in Didim, in southwestern Turkey. Hundreds gathered to pay tribute to the 26-year-old, as Turkish officials said they would request international arrest warrants for those responsible for what Ankara, the country’s capital, called an intentional killing, Reuters reported.

The IDF said Eygi was shot “unintentionally” during a “violent riot,” though a Washington Post analysis found that clashes had subsided and protesters had retreated by the time Eygi was killed.

Netanyahu will travel to New York this month for a gathering of world leaders at the UN General Assembly, his office said on Sunday. The Prime Minister will arrive in New York on September 24 for the four-day trip, his office said. Netanyahu last visited the United States in July, when he met with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

At least 41,206 people have been killed and 95,337 injured in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says the majority of the dead are women and children. Israel estimates about 1200 people were killed in Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, including more than 300 soldiers, and it says 342 soldiers have been killed since the launch of its military operation in Gaza.