In what can only be called an escalation toward a wider conflict in the Middle East, the Houthis have attacked central Israel. A missile fired from Yemen struck central Israel on Sunday morning, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

The Houthis are an armed group that controls much of northern Yemen and have claimed full responsibility for the attack on Israel. Israel has confirmed that the attack originated in Yemen.

The missile entered Israeli airspace from the east and fell in an open area, the IDF said in a message on X (formerly Twitter). There were no casualties as a result of the incident, it added, however, this is likely to prompt a response from Israel.

According to a report by RT, sirens were activated in the area from Tel-Aviv on the Mediterranean coast to the city of Modiin some 25km (18 miles) to its southeast at around 6:30 am local time.  

The Times of Israel reported that a single missile reportedly hit an open area and caused a fire in the Ben Shemen forest, a few kilometers away from Ben Gurion International Airport outside Tel-Aviv. Shrapnel also damaged a train station on the outskirts of Modiin, and the police are looking for missile debris in other areas, it added.

The Houthi’s spokesman, Yahya Qasim Saree said in a statement that “the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a specific military operation” against “a military target of the Israeli enemy” in Tel-Aviv’s Jaffa port area. The attack involved “a new hypersonic ballistic missile,” which was able to hit its intended target, the spokesman claimed. “The enemy’s defense systems failed to intercept and confront [the missile]. It crossed a distance of 2,040km in eleven and a half minutes, and caused a state of fear and panic” in Israel, he added.

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Saree warned that “the Israeli enemy should expect more strikes and specific operations” in the run-up to the first anniversary of the October 7 attack on Israel by the Palestinian armed group Hamas, in which around 1,200 people were killed and some 250 taken hostage.