UPDATE - Israel says it intercepted Houthi drone from Yemen

ADDS HOUTHI STATEMENT, CHANGES DECK

By Zein Khalil and Rania Abu Shamala

JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL (AA) - The Israeli army said Wednesday that it intercepted a drone launched from Yemen by the Houthi group.

A military statement said the drone was shot down by the Israeli Air Force.

The army said the drone attack triggered air raid sirens but it did not provide details about injuries or damage.​​​​​​​

The local Maariv daily said the drone was intercepted over the Eshkol Regional Council in the northwestern Negev desert within Israel's Southern District.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree announced that “the Air Force of the Yemeni Armed Forces (Houthis) carried out three distinct military operations targeting three Israeli enemy sites using five drones.”

He said the first operation targeted “a sensitive site in the occupied Yafa area (Tel Aviv) with two drones; the second targeted a military site in the occupied Ashkelon area (southwest) with two drones; and the third targeted a military site in the occupied Negev (south) with one drone.”

Saree said the operations “successfully achieved their objectives” and emphasized that they “will not stop until the (Israeli) aggression on Gaza ends and the blockade is lifted.”

The Houthis have intensified missile and drone strikes on Israel since Israeli forces resumed attacks on the Gaza Strip in March after two months of a shaky ceasefire.

Since November 2023, the group has also targeted commercial shipping in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea in support of Palestinians in Gaza, where more than 60,000 people have been killed in an Israeli onslaught.