People inspect the rubble of an event hall struck by US air strikes in Sanaa on Thursday.  EPA
People inspect the rubble of an event hall struck by US air strikes in Sanaa on Thursday. EPA

Israel intercepts second missile launched from Yemen as US strikes on Houthis resume



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Israel said it intercepted a second missile launched from Yemen late on Thursday as US strikes resumed on the Houthi rebels in the port city of Hodeidah.

The Iran-backed Houthis claimed responsibility for the missile attack. Since the outbreak of the Gaza war they have attacked commercial ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden that they accuse of links to Israel and its allies, in what they say is a campaign of solidarity with the Palestinians.

The rebels on Thursday night said they carried out “a qualitative military operation targeting an Israeli military target south of the occupied Jaffa region with a Palestine 2 hypersonic ballistic missile".

An Israeli military statement said air raid sirens went off in several areas including Jerusalem.

"Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in a number of areas in Israel, a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted by the IAF [Israeli air force] prior to crossing into Israeli territory," it said.

The Houthis this week threatened to escalate their attacks on shipping, following Israel's renewed military operations that began in Gaza on Tuesday.

"These operations, in addition to the ban on Israeli navigation, will continue until the aggression on Gaza stops and the siege is lifted," the rebels said.

An armed man walks at the site of US strikes in Sanaa.  Reuters

Earlier on Thursday Israel said it had intercepted another missile launched from Yemen, which the rebels claimed was a "hypersonic ballistic missile" aimed at Israel's main international airport. The Houthis said they had also launched an attack towards a US aircraft carrier group in the Red Sea.

Late on Thursday, US troops carried out more air strikes on Yemen's port city of Hodeidah, aimed at missile and weapons depots belonging to the rebels, according to local media.

The strikes came after US President Donald Trump vowed the Houthi "barbarians" would be "completely annihilated" by the intensified American military campaign against them.

The US Central Command said in a Wednesday post on X that forces were continuing "24/7 operations against the Iran-backed Houthis".

Washington has launched a wave of air strikes since Saturday on at least four Houthi-controlled provinces in Yemen, including Sanaa, leaving more than 50 people dead and 100 injured, according to the Houthi-run Al Masirah television channel.

Updated: March 21, 2025, 7:34 AM