Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militants said on Friday they had targeted the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Ashkelon, along with three US destroyers in the Red Sea with missiles and drones in support of Gaza and Lebanon.
The Israeli military said it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen, setting off sirens in central Israel.
The Houthis’ military spokesman said the operations would not stop until Israeli attacks in Gaza and Lebanon stopped. Yahya Sareyah said the group attacked Tel Aviv with a ballistic missile and launched a drone toward Ashkelon in southern Israel.
“We will launch more military operations against the Israeli enemy to achieve victory for the blood of our brothers in Palestine and Lebanon,” he said in a televised speech.
Sariya also said in a separate televised speech that the group had simultaneously targeted three US destroyers in the Red Sea with 23 ballistic and cruise missiles and a drone when the ships were on their way to support Israel.
US Navy warships passing through the Bab al-Mandab Strait intercepted several projectiles, including missiles and drones, fired by the Houthis, a US official said.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity and citing preliminary information, said there was no damage to any of the three warships in the area.
More than 600 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon since Monday, the most intense conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in more than 18 years.
Hezbollah has been firing rockets at Israel for nearly a year in support of its ally, the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which is fighting Israel in Gaza.
According to health officials there, more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli attack on Gaza. The war was triggered by attacks on Israel by Hamas militants, which killed 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.