SANAA: The United States on Saturday said it struck targets in Yemen’s rebel-held capital, hours after a Houthi rebel missile wounded people in Zionist commercial hub Tel Aviv. The missile, which wounded 16 people, was the second such attack in two days.

Among the targets of US forces was a rebel missile storage center and a “command-and-control facility,” the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement. American forces also shot down multiple Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea, it said, shortly after the rebels’ Al-Masirah TV channel reported that an “aggression” had targeted the Attan district of Sanaa, blaming Western forces. American and British forces have repeatedly struck rebel targets in Yemen this year in response to Houthi attacks on shipping in Red Sea-area waters vital to global trade.

Zionist entity has also previously struck back, including against ports and energy facilities, after rebel attacks against its territory. The Iran-backed Houthi rebels had claimed responsibility for the Saturday strike on Zionist entity, saying they directed a ballistic missile at “a military target of the Zionist entity enemy”. The Zionist military said it failed to intercept the missile, forcing many residents to leave their homes in the early hours.

Houthis have repeatedly launched missiles against Zionist entity in solidarity with the Palestinians since the war in Gaza began more than a year ago. Most of them have been intercepted. “One projectile launched from Yemen was identified and unsuccessful interception attempts were made,” after alert sirens sounded, the Zionist entity military said on its Telegram channel. In a later statement, the military said Zionist civilians had been “deliberately targeted”.

It stressed the country’s “aerial defense is not hermetic” so Zionist entity should follow security instructions. “I was at home and heard a loud explosion. I immediately went to the scene and saw significant blast damage to nearby buildings,” medic Yosef Kourdi was quoted as saying in a statement released by Zionist entity’s emergency medical service, Magen David Adom (MDA). — AFP

“MDA teams provided medical care to 16 individuals who were mildly injured by glass shards from shattered windows in nearby buildings due to the impact of the strike,” the statement said.

Ido Barnea, an IT manager whose apartment was damaged, told AFP a missile alert had sounded just before 4 am (0200 GMT). “Then there was a big ball of fire in the sky,” he said. “I didn’t even manage to get up and get dressed to go out.”

An AFP photographer reported that many residents in the vicinity of the strike had to leave their homes, carrying only the essentials. AFP images showed a large crater where the missile hit, and debris in the bedroom of a nearby house that was damaged.

Police swiftly cordoned off the neighborhood. Noa Mosseri, whose apartment was also damaged, told AFP she, too, heard the missile alert. “We were very lucky because we didn’t have time to get to a safe place. Within seconds there was a boom. We managed to get out and so we were not hurt,” she said.

In their statement on Saturday, the Houthi rebels pledged to continue their attacks against Zionist entity “until the aggression stops and the siege on the Gaza Strip is lifted”. The attack came two days after the rebels fired a missile that damaged a Zionist entity school. The military said that missile had been intercepted but only partially, and its warhead “exploded and damaged the school”. — AFP