Houthi supporters hold a poster of Maj. Gen. Muhammad Abdul Karim al-Ghamari, who died of wounds he suffered after an Israeli attack, during an anti-U.S. and anti-Israel rally in Sanaa, Yemen. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Much of Yemen is controlled by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have been firing missiles and drones at Israel — as well as at ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden — in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians
| Photo Credit: AFP

Israel’s military reported that it shot down a missile and a drone launched from Yemen on Friday, the latest in a series of attacks from the country targeting Israel in recent weeks.

“A missile that was launched from Yemen and crossed into Israeli territory was intercepted,” the military said in a statement posted to its Telegram channel.

“A report was received regarding shrapnel from the interception that fell in the area of Modi’in in central Israel. The details are under review.”

Israel’s emergency service provider, Magen David Adom, reported that it had treated several people who were injured or experienced panic attacks on their way to shelters after air raid sirens sounded in the centre and south of the country.

Hours later the military announced that it had also shot down a drone launched from Yemen.

The drone was intercepted before it entered Israel, the military added.

On Tuesday, Israel also said it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen.

Much of Yemen is controlled by Iran-backed Huthi rebels, who have been firing missiles and drones at Israel — as well as at ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden — in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

The Houthis have stepped up their attacks since November’s ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Israel has also struck Yemen, including targeting Sanaa’s international airport at the end of December.

Hodeida, Yemen:

Israeli warplanes struck the Houthi-controlled Yemeni port of Hodeida Saturday, a day after a Houthi drone attack killed a civilian in Tel Aviv, the rebels said.
In a statement on social media, top Houthi official Mohammed Abdulsalam reported a “brutal Israel aggression against Yemen.”

He said the attack targeted “fuel storage facilities and a power plant” in Hodeida “to pressure Yemen to stop supporting” Palestinians in the Gaza war.

The Axios news outlet cited US and Israeli officials as saying that Israel carried out the strikes in retaliation for a Houthi drone strike on Tel Aviv.

The Houthi attack on Friday penetrated Israel’s vaunted air defences and killed a civilian in a Tel Aviv apartment building, drawing Israeli threats of retaliation.

The Houthi-run health ministry said there were deaths and injuries in the Hodeida strikes but it did not give a count.

In a statement carried by the Houthi-run Al Masirah television, it said several people suffered “serious burns”.

Footage aired by Al Masirah, which AFP could not independently verify, showed a massive blaze on the seafront, with a large plume of black smoke rising into the sky.

An AFP correspondent in Hodeida reported hearing several large explosions and seeing smoke over the port.

Fuel pumps across the city closed following the attack, the correspondent said.

Hodeida has been hard hit by a series of strikes carried out by Britain and the United States since January in response to attacks by Houthi rebels on commercial shipping in the Red Sea

The Houthis have attacked at least 88 commercial vessels since November in a campaign they say targets Israeli-linked shipping in support of the Palestinians in the Gaza war.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)