Yemen's Houthis say they attacked Israel, U.S. destroyers

The group claims to have attacked Tel Aviv with a ballistic missile and launched a drone towards Ashkelon in southern Israel

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militants said on Friday they had targeted the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Ashkelon along with three U.S. destroyers in the Red Sea with missiles and drones in support of Gaza and Lebanon.

The Israeli army said it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen after sirens were heard.

The Houthis' military spokesperson said operations will not halt until Israel's offensives in Gaza and Lebanon stop.

The group attacked Tel Aviv with a ballistic missile and launched a drone towards Ashkelon in southern Israel, Yahya Sarea said.

"We will carry out more military operations against the Israeli enemy to triumph for the sake of our brothers' blood in Palestine and Lebanon," he added in a televised speech.

Sarea also said, in a separate televised speech, that the group had simultaneously targeted three U.S. destroyers in the Red Sea with 23 ballistic and winged missiles and a drone while the vessels were on their way to support Israel.

The U.S. military did not immediately respond to a request for comment

Israeli strikes have killed more than 600 people in Lebanon since Monday, with the conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah at its most intense in more than 18 years.

Hezbollah has been firing rockets into Israel for almost a year in support of allied Palestinian militant group Hamas, which is fighting Israel in Gaza.

Published - September 27, 2024 10:10 pm IST