Yemen's Houthis claim attack on 'military target' in Tel Aviv, 2 US warships in Red Sea

Sanaa, April 8 (IANS) Yemen's Houthi group said that it has launched a drone attack on a "military target" in Israel's Tel Aviv and fired cruise missiles at two US warships in the Red Sea.

"We carried out an operation against a military target in Tel Aviv, using a Jaffa drone," Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a televised statement aired by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.

"Our naval and air forces also conducted a joint military operation targeting two US destroyers in the Red Sea with several cruise missiles and drones," Sarea added.

He noted that the strikes on US warships were "in response to the ongoing US aggression and crimes against Yemeni people," referring to the latest US airstrikes on a house in Sanaa Sunday night, which killed at least four people and wounded over 20 others, including 11 women and children, Xinhua news agency reproted.

Sarea stressed that the US strikes would not deter the group from supporting the Palestinian people, vowing its operations would not cease until Israeli "aggression" against the Gaza Strip stops and the siege on it is lifted.

Tensions have escalated between the Houthi group and the United States since March 15, when the US military resumed airstrikes on Houthi targets to prevent the group from attacking naval and commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

The Houthis repeatedly claim that their attacks are in retaliation for US airstrikes on Yemen and aim to pressure the US-backed Israel to stop its offensive on Gaza and allow aid into the besieged Palestinian enclave.

--IANS

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