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By Emma Marsden
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Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Yemeni Houthi rebels will pay a "heavy price" after a ballistic missile struck central Israel for the first time on Sunday.
A Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said the "hypersonic ballistic missile" traveled 1,270 miles in just over 11 minutes. He said the rebel group was targeting a "military target" in the Tel Aviv area.
Newsweek was not able to immediately verify the type of missile used.
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The Houthi missile strikes come amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran, as Tehran continues to expand its influence through proxy forces across the region. The rebel group has long been involved in a protracted civil war, but has recently ramped up its rhetoric and actions against Israel, claiming solidarity with Palestinian factions.
The Israeli military said it made several attempts to intercept the missile, but had not yet determined whether they were successful. It added that the missile appeared to have fragmented midair.
Responding to the incident, Netanyahu said: "The Houthis should have known by now that we exact a heavy price for any attempt to harm us[...]Anyone who needs a reminder is invited to visit the port of Hodeidah." He was referring to an Israeli airstrike against Yemen in July for a Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv.
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There were no reports of injuries in Sunday's attack, but Israeli media showed people racing to shelters in Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport.
Netanyahu's stern warning following Sunday's attack marks an escalation in tensions across the region as the Iran-backed Houthi forces assert their involvement in the Middle Eastern conflict.
Since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October, 2023, in which around 1,200 civilians were killed and more than 250 hostages were taken into the Gaza Strip, Israel has repeatedly bombed the Palestinian territory, resulting in an almost year-long war in Gaza and the loss of over 40,000 Palestinians.
As reported by Newsweek, a recent Israeli strike on a U.N. school housing displaced Palestinians killed a further 34 people, with a U.N. official describing the suffering in Gaza as unprecedented.
The Houthis claim that they are acting in support of Palestine.
As reported by The Associated Press, international carriers have canceled flights into and out of Israel on a number of occasions since the start of the conflict, adding to the war's economic toll on the country.
The Houthi decision to target Israel could signify a shift in its strategy, likely motivated by Iran's desire to further entrench its influence in the regional conflict against Israel.
"The most recent Houthi efforts to strike targets in Israel are a continuation of their declared intent to expand their military operations to reach Israel," said Amb. (ret.) and director of The Middle East Institute (MEI)'s Arabian Peninsula program, Gerald M. Feierstein, in a written statement via email to Newsweek on Sunday.
He continued: "While most of their attempts have failed or been intercepted by Israeli defenses, they have demonstrated that they can occasionally succeed. Until there is a sustainable ceasefire to end the conflict in Gaza, the Houthis will almost certainly continue their attacks, with the risk that they may succeed in causing a significant mass casualty event that will expand the regional conflict and pose a threat to draw Iran into a direct confrontation with Israel."
Netanyahu's government is expected to hold security consultations in the coming days, assessing the long-term implications of the Houthi strikes and potential further responses.
Israel's northern front with Hezbollah, another Iranian proxy, remains tense, with fears that coordinated attacks could arise. Meanwhile, there looks to be no end in sight for Israel's almost year-long war with Hamas, which has displaced hundreds of thousands, or the civil war in Yemen.
Following Sunday's incident, as the situation in Israel continues to evolve, Netanyahu's message was clear: Any attempt to harm Israel, no matter how distant, will be met with a firm and decisive response.
Update 9/15/24, 4:34 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Feierstein.
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