Netanyahu vows to respond to Houthi attack on Israel

Photo: Benjamin Netanyahu/ABIR SULTAN/Pool via REUTERS

A new flashpoint emerged in the Middle East on Sunday, September 15, when Yemen's Houthi rebels launched a rocket attack on Israel, prompting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to threaten retaliation.

The rocket fell in an open area in central Israel. An air raid siren sounded at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, located near the area attacked. There were no reports of casualties or major damage. Airport officials said normal operations resumed shortly thereafter, Voice of America reports.

"This morning the Houthis launched a missile… from Yemen at our territory," Netanyahu said at the start of a cabinet meeting. "They should have known by now that we will retaliate harshly for any attempt to harm us."

"For those who need a reminder on this issue, we invite you to visit the port of Hodeida,"– he added, referring to a Yemeni Red Sea port that Israeli warplanes bombed in July after the Houthis said a drone strike killed a Tel Aviv civilian and wounded 10 others.

Yemen's Houthis have repeatedly launched drones and missiles toward Israel since the Gaza war began last October, but almost all of them have been intercepted over the Red Sea.

200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000

Houthi spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Sari said in the latest attack they fired a ballistic missile aimed at a “military target” in Jaffa, part of Tel Aviv.

The Houthis are one of several Iran-backed groups in the Middle East that have been drawn into the conflict sparked by the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7 last year.

On Israel's northern flank, Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement has been regularly engaging in cross-border fire with Israeli forces, threatening to escalate into all-out war. The Israeli military said about 40 shells were fired from Lebanon on Sunday morning toward Israel's Upper Galilee region and the Golan Heights.

Netanyahu said Sunday, Sept. 15, that the current situation on the Israel-Lebanon border, where tens of thousands of people have been displaced, cannot continue.

“The current situation will not continue. We will do everything necessary for the safe return of our residents to their homes,” he said. – We are waging a campaign on multiple fronts against the Iranian “axis of evil” that seeks to destroy us.”

Hezbollah has said it will stop its attacks if there is a ceasefire in Gaza. The United States and Arab mediators Egypt and Qatar have spent much of this year trying to broker a truce and the release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas, but talks have repeatedly stalled.

The United States, Britain, the EU and other Western countries have declared Hamas a terrorist group.

Prepared by: Sergey Daga