The Yemeni Houthi group announced on Monday that it had launched a missile barrage targeting what it described as “sensitive targets” in the Jaffa area in central Israel, coinciding with its announcement of a ban on maritime navigation for Israeli ships in the Red Sea.
The group’s military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said in a televised statement that “the Yemeni armed forces launched a missile barrage targeting sensitive targets of the Israeli enemy in the occupied Jaffa region,” stressing that the group decided to “completely and totally ban maritime navigation for the Israeli enemy in the Red Sea.”
Saree added that “all enemy movements have become a military target for our armed forces from the moment this statement is issued,” vowing to continue the escalation, and said: “We will meet escalation with escalation, and our operations will escalate in line with events and the battle.”
The group's Yemeni military media outlet broadcast footage it claimed documented the launch of missiles toward Israel. The footage showed "Palestine 2" missiles being launched from platforms bearing the group's logo and the Yemeni flag. The group accompanied the video with a statement claiming it documented "the launch of a missile salvo at sensitive targets of the Israeli enemy in the Jaffa area of occupied Palestine."
For its part, Israeli Army Radio reported that about 30 missiles were launched from Iran and one missile from Yemen towards Israel since last night, without providing further details.
The Houthi attack comes amid a regional escalation following an Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut's southern suburbs on Sunday evening, killing two people and wounding 11 others. Israel claimed it targeted a Hezbollah command and planning center. Iran had previously warned Israel against targeting Beirut's southern suburbs before launching waves of missiles toward Israel on Sunday evening.
In response, Israel announced that its fighter jets had launched raids on military targets in western and central Iran, amid Israeli assessments that the confrontation between the two sides would continue for several days.
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