Israel reports new missile attacks from Iran, Yemen

JERUSALEM

Incoming missile sirens sounded Thursday evening in central and southern Israel following barrages from Iran and Yemen in less than two hours, Israeli media reported.

Army Radio said missile fragments fell near Tel Aviv after a new wave of Iranian missiles targeted the area.

The daily Yedioth Ahronoth said one of the missiles made a direct impact in the city of Petah Tikva near Tel Aviv, causing significant damage.

According to the daily Haaretz, a factory in the area sustained heavy damage as a result of the strike.

It added that “the missile warhead carried a large quantity of explosives.”

Channel 12 said sirens sounded in the Dead Sea in southern Israel after a missile attack from Yemen.

The outlet said a missile fired by the Houthi group was intercepted by air defenses.

No details were given about damage or injuries.

In a recorded statement, Yahya Saree, the Houthi group’s military spokesman, said the attack was carried out “with a salvo of ballistic missiles,” targeting “vital sites of the Israeli enemy in the occupied Jaffa area (Tel Aviv).”

He added that the operation was conducted “in coordination with brothers in Iran and Hezbollah,” and that it “achieved its objectives.”

Saree said that the group’s involvement in the confrontation is “gradual,” adding that it will respond to developments in line with either escalation or de-escalation.

Regional tensions have escalated since the US and Israel launched a joint offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, killing more than 1,340 people to date, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, as well as Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets.

*Writing by Rania Abushamala in Istanbul.