Israel downs missile from Yemen following strike on Houthis

TEL AVIV:

Israel said it shot down a missile launched from Yemen on Sunday and the Yemeni Houthi movement said it had fired several missiles at the Israeli city of Eilat after Israel's first public strike against the Iran-aligned group a day earlier.

The Houthis have launched missiles and drones at Israel and disrupted global trade through the Red Sea in response to Israel's assault on Gaza, further destabilising the Middle East as war in the Palestinian enclave rages on after nine months.

Israel says the Houthis have launched 200 attacks against it since the Gaza war began, many of them intercepted and most of them not deadly.

But a rare Houthi drone strike on Friday hit Tel Aviv and killed one person, prompting Israel to announce its first strikes against the group on Saturday. The strikes by warplanes hit near the Yemeni port of Hodeidah and killed six people, local medics said.

Read: US carries out new strike in Yemen after Biden vows to keep pressure on

The Houthi movement, known formally as Ansar Allah, said on Sunday it would continue to attack Israel in response. Houthi spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam told Qatar's Al Jazeera TV there would be "no red lines ... all sensitive institutions ... will be a target for us."

The Israeli military said its Arrow 3 missile defence system had shot down a surface-to-surface missile projectile launched from Yemen on Sunday before it crossed into Israeli territory.

Before the interception, air raid sirens sounded in the Red Sea port city of Eilat, sending residents running for shelter.