Israeli military says it intercepted missile fired from Yemen; Houthis claim responsibility

(Reuters) -The Israeli military said it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen on Friday, one day after shooting down two projectiles launched by Houthi militants.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that it fired a ballistic missile toward Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, the group's military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said in a televised statement in the early hours of Saturday.

Saree said the attack against Israel was the group's third in 48 hours.

He issued a warning to airlines that the Israeli airport was "no longer safe for air travel and would continue to be so until the Israeli aggression against Gaza ends and the blockade is lifted".

However, the airport's website seemed to be operating normally and showed a list of scheduled flights.

The group's military spokesman has also said without providing evidence that the Houthis had launched attacks against the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea.

The group recently vowed to escalate attacks, including those targeting Israel, in response to U.S. strikes earlier this month, which amount to the biggest U.S. military operation in the Middle East since President Donald Trump took office in January. The U.S. attacks have killed at least 50 people.

The Houthis' fresh attacks come under a pledge to expand their range of targets in Israel in retaliation for renewed Israeli strikes in Gaza that have killed hundreds after weeks of relative calm.

The Houthis have carried out over 100 attacks on shipping since Israel's war with Hamas began in late 2023, saying they were acting in solidarity with Gaza's Palestinians.

The attacks have disrupted global commerce and prompted the U.S. military to launch a costly campaign to intercept missiles.

The Houthis are part of what has been dubbed the "Axis of Resistance" - an anti-Israel and anti-Western alliance of regional militias including Hamas, Lebanon's Hezbollah and armed groups in Iraq, all backed by Iran.

(Reporting by James Mackenzie, Hatem Maher and Menna Alaa El-Din; editing by Diane Craft and Leslie Adler)