Israel Shoots Fall Missile Launched From Yemen's Houti Group

Israeli military land operations in Gaza. (Source: Israel Defense Forces)

JAKARTA - Israel said it had shot down a missile launched from Yemen today. At the same time, Yemen's Houthi movement said it had fired several missiles at the Israeli city of Eilat after Israel's first public attack on a group allied with Iran the day before. The Houthis have launched missiles and drones into Israel and disrupted global trade through the Red Sea in response to an Israeli attack on Gaza, which further rocked the Middle East as war in the Palestinian enclave raged after nine months. Quoted from Reuters on Sunday, July 21, Israel said the Houthis had launched 200 attacks against them since the Gaza war began. Many of them were intercepted and largely non-lethal. But a rare Houthi drone strike on Friday hit Tel Aviv and killed one person. This prompted Israel to announce its first attack on the group on Saturday. The attacks of warplanes hit near the port of Hodeidah in Yemen and killed six people, local medics said. The Houthi movement, officially known as Ansar Allah, said on Sunday it would continue to attack Israel in response. Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam told Qatar's Al Jazeera TV that "there will be no red line... all sensitive institutions... will be our targets." The Israeli military said its Arrow 3 missile defense system had shot down a surface-to-surface missile projectile launched from Yemen on Sunday before crossing into Israeli territory. Prior to the interception, sirens of airstrikes were heard in the port city of the Red Sea, Eilat, causing residents to run for cover. Sunday's attack extended the escalation of violence between Israel and the Houthis which began with an Houthi drone strike that hit downtown Tel Aviv on Friday. One person was killed and four others injured, officials said. Israeli warplane airstrikes in Hodeidah on Saturday killed six people and injured more than 80 people, Yemen's medical sources told Reuters, describing everything as civilians.

Images from the scene showed flames and thick smoke rising from the site of the strike. A Houthi-run TV channel said the attack had hit an oil facility and power plant. Israeli officials say the port of Hodeidah has been used by the Houthis to receive arms shipments from Iran.