CNN
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Israeli military intercepted missiles launched by Yemeni Hooti rebels early Thursday, targeting Israel after Gaza stopped, as the US stepped up airstrikes against Iran-backed extremist groups.
Houthis, a ballistic missile launched in support of the Palestinians, claimed responsibility for saying it had killed nearly 500 people on the strip since the destruction of a fragile ceasefire on Tuesday in response to Israel’s new bombing of Gaza.
Israeli authorities said sirens have been heard in several parts of Israel, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
According to the Israeli Defense Force (IDF), the missiles were intercepted before they entered Israeli territory. Israeli emergency services said the injury was reported immediately.
Houthis said the missile targeted Ben Gurion International Airport, Israel’s main aviation hub, on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.
The group also claimed it was targeting aircraft airline USS Harry Truman and many US warships in the Red Sea.
The launch of Houthis comes after President Donald Trump threatened Houthis with a post on a true social platform, targeting Yemen on Wednesday and early Thursday, including the capital Sanaa.
Houthis, which has had a major impact on global trade since late 2023, has previously said it will continue its attacks on the interests of the US and Israeli people until hostilities are ceased in Gaza. The group suspended the attack when a ceasefire between Israeli and Palestinian extremist groups was declared in January.
Dozens have been reportedly killed in Yemen since Trump ordered “decisive” military action last weekend.
On Wednesday, the US in the United States injured seven women and two children in a residential area, the Houthi-run Department of Health said.
The US strike also targeted the western Al Jof province on Wednesday, targeting Hodeida and Sada early on Thursday, Houthis said.
Video from Houthi-run Al-Masirah’s television shows the Yemeni civil defense team extinguish a fiery fire after strikes, damaged buildings and vehicles, and two children with blood in their bodies and clothes.
The US Central Command did not clarify the specific locations it targeted in Yemen, but on Wednesday confirmed that its forces would “continue 24/7 operation against Iran-backed Houtsis.”
According to Al-Masirah TV, the US killed at least 53 people over the weekend and nearly 100 people were injured in Yemen, including women and children.
Israel’s return to the war against Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza has heightened tensions in the Middle East and rekindled fears of conflict in the wider region.
When the US struck Yemen, Trump warned Iran to stop remittances of military supplies “quickly.”
“We’ve seen a lot of damage done to the Houthi Barbarians and how it gets worse,” he said.
On Wednesday, Israeli forces launched a “targeted” ground attack in Gaza, recaptured partially important areas of the territory.
The operation included expanding Israeli control “to the heart of the Netzarim Corridor,” the military said. The corridor is an important land that divides Gaza in half and divides Central Gaza city and Northern Gaza from Egypt and the southern part of the adjacent strip.
Israeli airstrikes killed more than 400 people in Gaza on Tuesday, making it one of the most deadly days of the war, according to the Enclave’s health ministry. Dozens more Palestinians have since been killed on strikes across the enclave.
Gaza’s civil defense also warns of impending hunger as the nearly three-week long lockdown of Israeli humanitarian aid exacerbates already dire conditions for hundreds of thousands of displaced people.
This is a developing story and will be updated.