Houthis claim attack on central Israel in response to Gaza ‘massacres’ 

Yemen’s Houthi group says it has carried out a drone attack in central Israel’s Tel Aviv area in “a specific military operation” in support of Palestinians in Gaza.

The Houthis said in a statement on Monday that their forces struck “a sensitive target of the Israeli enemy”.

An Israeli military statement said a drone hit a building in the city of Yavne after air defence systems failed to detect it and an investigation into the failure is under way.

The Houthis said the operation “achieved its objective” without providing details.

No injuries were reported in the attack, which caused damage to several apartments in the building, according to Israeli media reports.

The Houthis said the attack was in response to Israel’s “massacres” against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip, where Israel has been waging a devastating assault for more than a year.

The Houthis – who control large areas of Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa, and present themselves as the country’s official armed forces – pledged to continue their attacks on Israel until the end of the war on Gaza.

“The Yemeni Armed Forces confirm that they will confront any Israeli aggression against our country with more specific military operations and that their support operations for the Palestinian people will not stop until the aggression stops and the siege on the Gaza Strip is lifted,” the group said in a statement.

The Houthis have been carrying out attacks on shipping lanes in and around the Red Sea in a campaign that they said aims to pressure Israel to end its assault on Gaza. The Iran-allied Yemeni group has also launched missiles and drones directly at Israel over the past year.

The United States is leading a military coalition that has been bombing Houthi targets in Yemen. Israel has also carried out air strikes against areas under the control of the group. But these efforts have failed to stop the Houthi attacks.

Monday’s drone strike suggests that the Houthis are continuing their attacks on Israel even after a ceasefire in Lebanon came into effect on November 27, putting an end to another Gaza “support front” by Iran-allied Hezbollah.

The Houthis and Hezbollah are both part of the Tehran-led “Axis of Resistance”.

Hezbollah began launching strikes at Israel in October 2023 in a push that it said aimed to end the war on Gaza.

But under the terms of the truce that followed more than 62 days of intense Israeli bombardment of Lebanon, Hezbollah and Israel agreed to cease their attacks.

The deal also says Hezbollah must withdraw its forces to the north of the Litani River, about 30km (20 miles) north of the Israeli border, and dismantle its military infrastructure in southern Lebanon.

In Gaza, Israel’s assault has killed more than 44,700 people, many of whom are women and children. The offensive has also wiped out large parts of the territory and displaced nearly its entire population. More than 100,000 people have been wounded, according to health authorities in the besieged enclave.

United Nations experts and rights groups, including Amnesty International, have accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.