JERUSALEM/SANAA, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli military said it intercepted a ballistic missile fired Tuesday from Yemen by the Houthi group.

The missile triggered air raid sirens across southern Israel. "Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in central and southern Negev, a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted by the IAF (Israeli Air Force) before crossing into Israeli territory," the military said in a statement.

Later on Tuesday, the Houthi group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement aired by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV that the group "targeted the Nevatim Air Base with a 'Palestine-2' hypersonic missile, which successfully achieved its goal."

Sarea said the group would expand the circle of targets in the coming hours and days "unless the (Israeli) aggression against Gaza stops," referring to a new wave of deadly Israeli airstrikes across Gaza earlier in the day that has killed more than 400 people.

Israel has vowed to intensify the assault if Hamas does not release the remaining hostages held in the enclave, further shattering a fragile ceasefire that took effect on Jan. 19.

From November 2023 to Jan. 19 this year, the Houthi group, which currently controls much of northern Yemen including the capital Sanaa, had launched dozens of drone and rocket attacks against Israel-linked ships and Israeli cities to show solidarity with Palestinians amid the Israel-Hamas conflict. It then stopped its attacks on Jan. 19. Enditem

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