A ballistic missile launched by the Houthis in Yemen at Israel on Sunday afternoon was intercepted by air defenses, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The missile, which was detected shortly before 4:30 p.m., set off sirens in central Israel and the Jerusalem area, forcing hundreds of thousands of Israelis to seek cover amid widespread protests across the country for the return of the hostages held by Hamas.
There were no reports of impacts or injuries.
The attack came hours after the Israeli Navy launched strikes against a power plant south of Sanaa, the Houthi-controlled capital of Yemen, on Sunday morning.
The Israel Defense Forces, in a statement, said the strike hit “energy infrastructure used by the Houthi terror regime” near Sanaa, in response to “repeated attacks by the Houthi terror regime against the State of Israel and its citizens, including the launching of surface-to-surface missiles and UAVs toward Israeli territory.”
Local media reported large explosions in the area that knocked generators out of service.
A man inspects the damage at the site of an Israeli strike that targeted the Haziz power station south of the Houthi-run Yemeni capital Sanaa on August 17, 2025. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)
The Houthi-run Al Masirah TV blamed the explosion on “aggression,” without identifying the source. Teams were working to put out a fire caused by the incident, Al Masirah added, citing a source in civil defense.
An Israeli defense official confirmed the strike was carried out by Navy missile boats. It was only the second time that the Navy has struck in Yemen, the first being an attack on the Houthi-controlled Hodeida port in June.
After the missile fire on Sunday afternoon, Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened that the Houthis would “pay dearly” for their attacks.
“We are imposing an aerial and naval blockade that hurts them greatly, and this morning, we struck infrastructure and energy targets. This is only the beginning,” he said in a statement issued by his office.
“What follows will be strong and painful. Whoever raises a hand against Israel, his hand will be cut off,” Katz added.
The navy strike on Sunday morning was the 14th time that Israel has attacked the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, located some 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) away.
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Most of the strikes have been carried out by Israeli Air Force fighter jets; the last strike on the Houthis, in July, was carried out by an IAF drone, for the first time.
Since then, the Houthis have launched eight ballistic missiles and at least seven drones at Israel, attacks that caused no damage or injuries.
The Houthis — whose slogan calls for “Death to America, Death to Israel, [and] a Curse on the Jews” — began attacking Israel and maritime traffic in November 2023, a month after the October 7 Hamas massacre.
The Houthis held their fire during a ceasefire that was reached between Israel and Hamas in January 2025. By that point, they had fired over 40 ballistic missiles and dozens of attack drones and cruise missiles at Israel, including one that killed a civilian and wounded several others in Tel Aviv in July, prompting Israel’s first strike in Yemen.
Since March 18, when the IDF resumed its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis in Yemen have launched 70 ballistic missiles and at least 22 drones at Israel. Several of the missiles have fallen short.
Agencies contributed to this report.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
