Yemen's Houthis claim first missile attack on Israel of Middle East war

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Saturday, March 28 claimed their first strike on Israel since the start of the Middle East war a month ago, after the Israeli military said it was intercepting an attack. The attack came after the Yemeni group had threatened to join the regional war if its ally Tehran continued to be attacked or if more countries joined the conflict. In a video statement posted on X, spokesman Yahya Saree said the group, which controls most of northern Yemen and targeted Israel with drones and missiles throughout much of the Gaza war, had launched ballistic missiles at Israeli military sites. A few hours earlier, the Israeli military said in a statement it had "identified the launch of a missile from Yemen toward Israeli territory, aerial defense systems are operating to intercept the threat." There were no reports of any casualties or damage in Israel, and media reports suggested the missile may have been intercepted. The Houthis also attacked shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden during the Gaza war, saying they were acting in solidarity with the Palestinians, but have so far refrained from doing so in the latest war. "We affirm that our fingers are on the trigger for direct military intervention," the group said in a statement on Friday, warning that it would act if other nations joined the US-Israeli fight or if the Red Sea was used for "hostile operations." The Red Sea has become increasingly important during the US-Israeli war with Iran, as Saudi Arabia has diverted a large proportion of its oil exports to the port of Yanbu, with Iran having all but closed the Strait of Hormuz and cut off the Gulf. Retaliatory strikes Israeli authorities said an Iranian missile attack killed a man in Tel Aviv on Friday, March 27, as Tehran pressed its retaliatory strikes across the region a month into the war. The Israeli military said it had "identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel" in at least five rounds in just over five hours, triggering air defense systems and warning sirens late on Friday and early Saturday. The Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency medical service said a man was killed in Tel Aviv in one of the attacks. Two other men, aged 65 and 50, were wounded in a separate incident in the city, and another two in the southern town of Kuseife, MDA said. AFP images from Tel Aviv showed emergency responders at the scene of a missile impact, where the bombed-out entrance to a building was littered with debris. Video footage that a witness shared with AFP showed what appeared to be a missile barrage over Jerusalem, where air raid sirens had sounded. AFP correspondents also heard the sound of explosions from Jericho in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israeli media said that one of the rounds of inbound attacks, which according to the army's Home Front Command triggered sirens in Israel's north and parts of the annexed Golan Heights, was carried out simultaneously by Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah. Earlier Friday, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran would exact a "HEAVY price for Israeli crimes," after attacks major steel factories and nuclear sites. Before the latest fatality was confirmed, emergency services and authorities had said attacks killed 18 civilians on the Israeli side since the start of the war on February 28. They said Iranian missile attacks had killed 13 Israelis, including four minors, as well as one Filipino caregiver and one Thai national. 'Successful interceptions' Meanwhile, UAE authorities said fires broke out early Saturday at an industrial zones following an incoming missile and drone attack from Iran, with no reports of casualties. The United Arab Emirates' defense ministry said air defenses were responding to incoming cruise missiles and drones fired by Iran, as Tehran pressed strikes in the Gulf a month into the regional war. The Abu Dhabi government media office said in a statement posted online that authorities were dealing with two fires in the area of the emirate's Khalifa Economic Zones. The statement said the fires had broken out due to falling debris from a "successful interception" of a ballistic missile.