The Israeli military said several people were lightly injured after its air defenses failed to intercept the projectile, which struck a playground in the city.

SANAA : Yemen’s Houthi rebels said today that they had fired a ballistic missile at central Israel, with Israeli forces saying they intercepted the attack. The missile was aimed at the Tel Aviv area, the Iran-backed Houthis said. The Israelis reported it was shot down before it entered Israeli territory.

Israeli forces on Thursday launched a massive barrage of strikes on Houthi positions in Yemen in the latest exchange of attacks between Israel and the Iranian-backed rebel group. The Israeli military said in a statement on the social platform X that fighter jets struck military targets on the western coast of Yemen.

The Yemen-based Houthi militant group said Wednesday it fired a ballistic missile at the Tel Aviv area in central Israel, an attack that prompted air raid sirens to sound but caused no damage. Israel’s military said it intercepted the missile before it crossed into Israeli territory.