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A missile fired from Yemen by Iran-backed Houthi rebels struck Israel’s commercial hub of Tel Aviv before dawn on Saturday, wounding 16 people in the second such attack within days.
Israel’s military said it had failed to intercept the missile, which hit a district of Tel Aviv municipality, forcing many residents to leave their homes in the early hours of Saturday.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it used a ballistic missile directed at “a military target of the Israeli enemy”.
The rebels have repeatedly launched missile attacks against Israel in solidarity with Palestinians since the war in Gaza began more than a year ago, most of which have been intercepted.
In return, Israel has struck multiple targets in Yemen, including ports and energy facilities in areas controlled by the Houthis.
“Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in central Israel, one projectile launched from Yemen was identified and unsuccessful interception attempts were made,” the Israeli military said on its Telegram channel.
In a separate statement later in the day, the military called the missile strike “yet another clear example of Israeli civilians being deliberately targeted”.
Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s emergency medical service, said 16 people were slightly injured.
“I was at home and heard a loud explosion. I immediately went to the scene and saw significant blast damage to nearby buildings,” medic Yosef Kourdi was quoted as saying in a statement released by MDA.
“MDA teams provided medical care to 16 individuals who were mildly injured by glass shards from shattered windows in nearby buildings due to the impact of the strike,” the statement said.
Ido Barnea, an IT manager whose apartment was damaged, told AFP a missile alert had sounded just before 4:00 am.
“Then there was a big ball of fire in the sky,” he said. “I didn’t even manage to get up and get dressed to go out.”
Images showed a large crater where the missile fell, and debris in the bedroom of a nearby house that was damaged.
Police swiftly cordoned off the neighbourhood.
Noa Mosseri, whose apartment was also damaged, said she too heard the missile alert.
“We were very lucky because we didn’t have time to get to a safe place. Within seconds there was a boom. We managed to get out and so we were not hurt,” she said.
The Houthi rebels say they are acting in support of Palestinians, and pledged in their statement on Saturday to continue operations “until the aggression stops and the siege on the Gaza Strip is lifted”.
The strike came just two days after the rebels fired a missile at Israel that damaged a school.
Israel said that missile had been intercepted and the school was hit by its falling debris.
Israel later struck several Houthi sites in Yemen, including in Sanaa – the first such strike in the rebel-held capital.
“The Israeli enemy targeted ports in Hodeida and power stations in Sanaa, and the Israeli aggression resulted in the martyrdom of nine civilian martyrs,” rebel leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said in a lengthy speech broadcast by the rebels’ Al-Masira TV.
Soon after retaliating for Thursday’s attack, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, warned the rebels of severe repercussions.
“After Hamas, Hezbollah, and the (Bashar al-) Assad regime in Syria, the Houthis are almost the last remaining arm of Iran’s axis of evil,” he said in a statement.
“The Houthis are learning and will learn the hard way, that those who strike Israel will pay a very heavy price for it.”
On Dec 9, a drone claimed by the Houthis exploded on the top floor of a residential building in the central Israel city of Yavne, causing no casualties.
And in July, a Houthi drone attack in Tel Aviv killed an Israeli civilian, prompting retaliatory strikes on the port of Hodeidah.
The Houthis have also regularly targeted shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, leading to retaliatory strikes on Houthi targets by US and sometimes British forces.
