Yemen's Houthis Target Israel Three Times In 12 Hours

The Yemeni Houthi forces announced Tuesday that it targeted the Israeli Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv with a hypersonic missile. Israeli media also confirmed an attempted attack, which triggered emergency sirens across the central Israeli region:

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim an overnight missile attack on Israel, saying they had launched a "hypersonic ballistic missile" into "occupied Jaffa," a reference to the Israeli commercial hub of Tel Aviv.

The IDF said it had attempted an interception of the missile that set off sirens in a large swath of central Israel. The launch came on the heels of a Monday night attack in which a projectile fired from Yemen was intercepted “prior to crossing into Israeli territory,” according to the military.

It is unclear where the projectile may have landed, but Israel is not reporting any significant damage to its military facilities.

But what is clear is that the Houthis have remained undeterred in their attacks, despite round after round of US and Israeli airstrikes on Yemen over the last several weeks.

Crucially, this marks no less than the third Houthi operation against Israel within 12 hours - which has included drone launches as well. "This is the third operation within 12 hours," a Houthi military statement boasted.

There is some evidence in regional reporting that a projectile that was part of these assaults damaged a private residence:

Part of the missile landed on the roof of a home west of occupied Jerusalem. The Israeli army said in two separate statements, hours apart, on 13 January that it intercepted a missile and a drone launched from Yemen. 

The Yemeni army said on Tuesday that it attacked a "vital target" and launched four drones at targets in the Tel Aviv area. 

On January 10 the US, UK, and Israel conducted a rare three-way attack on Yemen, hitting various parts including the key port of Hodeidah. The capital of Sanaa was also hit, even as a large civilian demonstration was happening.

This week President Biden has proclaimed that Israel and Hamas are "on the brink" of finally achieving a ceasefire deal and hostage exchange. It's anything but clear whether the Houthis would also honor this and cease their rocket launches. 

Houthi leaders have demanded a full Israeli military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and have threatened to keep attacking Israel and ships in the Red Sea until this happens. Israeli military leaders have at the same time vowed to 'hunt' down top Houthi officials, seen as Iran's proxies.