Houthis fire missile at northern Israel as US launches more strikes on Yemen

Israeli authorities say projectile 'most likely intercepted'

Mourners bury the victims of US air strikes at Al Mashhad Cemetery in Sanaa, Yemen, on Wednesday. AP

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Yemen's Houthi rebels launched a missile early on Wednesday towards northern Israel, which Israeli authorities said was “most likely successfully intercepted”.

The Houthis also claimed to have shot down another US MQ-9 Reaper drone over Yemen.

Sirens sounded in Israel's Haifa, Krayot and other areas west of the Sea of Galilee as the Houthi missile approached, the military said.

“An interceptor was launched towards the missile, and the missile was most likely successfully intercepted,” it added.

The Houthis did not immediately claim the attack.

US air strikes continued against Yemen on Wednesday morning, part of an intensified campaign that began on March 15. The Houthis reported strikes on Hodeidah, Marib and Saada provinces. In Marib, the Houthis said a strike hit telecoms equipment.

Late on Tuesday, Houthi military spokesman Brig Gen Yahya Saree said the rebels had shot down an MQ-9 Reaper drone over Yemen's Hajjah province.

A crater at the site of a strike in Sanaa on Monday. Reuters

The US military acknowledged the report of the drone being shot down, but said it could not comment further.

Brig Gen Saree said the rebels hit the drone with “a locally manufactured missile”. The Houthis possess surface-to-air missiles – such as the Iranian missile known as the 358 – capable of shooting down aircraft. The Houthis claim they have shot down 26 MQ-9s over the last decade of the Yemen war.

The Reaper drones, which cost about $30 million each, can fly at altitudes above 12,000 metres and remain in the air for more than 30 hours. They have been flown by the US military and the CIA for years over Afghanistan, Iraq and now Yemen.

The US says it is striking the “Iran-backed Houthi terrorists” to stop attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea.

One strike on Thursday hit Yemen's Ras Isa fuel port, killing at least 74 people and wounding 171.

The Houthis say they are carrying out their attacks on shipping in solidarity with Hamas as it fights Israeli troops in Gaza. The rebels are the last militant group in Iran’s self-described Axis of Resistance that is capable of regularly attacking Israel.

US raids on Yemen started in January last year but have been increased since President Donald Trump took office in January. The intensified US campaign started after the rebels threatened to begin attacking so-called Israeli ships again when Israel resumed blocking aid from entering Gaza.

From November 2023 until January this year, the Houthis attacked more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two and killing four sailors. That has greatly reduced the flow of ships through the Red Sea corridor, which is a crucial global trade route.

The US military has not released information about its bombing campaign, including what has been attacked and how many people have been killed.