SANAA, Yemen

At least 18 Israelis were injured early Friday while rushing to shelters in Tel Aviv, following a missile launch from Yemen which the Israeli army claimed to have intercepted.

According to the army, the missile was intercepted before entering Israeli airspace, with alarm sirens sounding across central areas of the country, including the Tel Aviv metropolitan area.

Emergency services reported no direct injuries or material damage from the missile but confirmed that 18 individuals were hurt during the rush to shelters.

Following the missile launch, several flights from Europe to Ben Gurion International Airport were delayed with landing operations resuming approximately 30 minutes later.

Meanwhile, the Houthi military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, confirmed that the group had executed “three significant military operations.”

In a statement, Saree said: “We carried out a high-quality military operation targeting Ben Gurion Airport with a Palestine-2 type hypersonic ballistic missile.”

He confirmed that the missile successfully reached its target despite the Israeli military's efforts to keep the attack under wraps.

In addition to the airport strike, Saree noted that a drone attack also targeted a vital facility in Tel Aviv.

“The operation successfully hit its target,” he added, though no further details on the specific facility were provided.

The Houthi spokesperson also reported a third attack that targeted a ship named Santa Ursula in the Arabian Sea, east of Socotra Island, for “violating the ban on entering Israeli-controlled ports.”

On Thursday evening, the Houthis reported that Israeli airstrikes on Sanaa International Airport and Al-Hudaydah province killed six people and injured 40 others.

The latest strikes are part of a pattern of Israeli military action in Yemen this year. On July 20, Israeli airstrikes on Al Hudaydah Port are said to have killed dozens and caused significant material losses, estimated by Houthi officials at $20 million.

On Sept. 29, Israeli forces conducted widespread airstrikes on western Yemen, including Al Hudaydah and Ras Isa ports.

Most recently, on Dec. 19, Israel targeted power stations in Sanaa, Al Hudaydah, Salif, and Ras Isa, resulting in nine deaths, three injuries, and severe infrastructure damage. The strikes left hundreds of thousands without electricity.

The Houthis have targeted Israel, as well as Israeli-linked shipping and naval vessels in the Red Sea, in solidarity with the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has killed more than 45,300 people since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks.

The US and UK have also been bombing Houthi targets in Yemen.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi