FIRST BLITZ
Houthi rebels strike Tel Aviv with 7,000mph HYPERSONIC missile that beat Israel’s Iron Dome in chilling escalation
The Houthis swore to fire more rockets ahead of the one-year mark of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza
IRANIAN proxy group the Houthis reportedly hit central Israel with a ballistic missile for the first time today and swore to unleash more strikes.
Israel said the rocket - which travelled some 1,270 miles from Yemen in just over 11 minutes - fell in an open area and nobody was hurt.
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Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said the group used a new hypersonic ballistic missile in its attack.
The rocket landed at around 6.35am local time in central Israel, near Lod just outside major city Tel Aviv.
Air raid sirens sounded out across Tel Aviv as residents scrambled for shelter.
Loud explosions were heard which the IDF said was caused by air defence systems sending out missile interceptors.
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Pictures from the scene showed fire and plumes of smoke billowing out near a crater, as police inspected the damage.
A forensic officer was also there to analyse fragments of the missile as firefighters worked to put out the flames.
Shrapnel caused by the blitz damaged a train station in Modi’in, east of Tel Aviv.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said in a statement this morning: "Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in central Israel, a surface-to-surface missile was identified crossing into central Israel from Yemen and fell in an open area.
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"No injuries were reported."
Officials said parts of the missile fell in an unpopulated spot in Kfar Daniel, near Lod, and some four miles from Ben Gurion airport.
The military said the missile "most likely fragmented in mid-air".
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the Houthis will face a "heavy price" for the attack.
He said: "We are in a multi-arena campaign against Iran’s evil axis that strives to destroy us.
"They should have known by now that we exact a heavy price for any attempt to harm us."
Footage shared online showed plumes of smoke pouring out from the bushes near where the missile landed.
A crater could be seen in the soil.
The Houthis have repeatedly fired missiles at Israel as a sign of solidarity with Iran-backed terror groups Hamas and Hezbollah - all in conflict with Israel.
This is the first one to penetrate so far into Israeli airspace, only one has previously hit territory inside the country.
It fell in another open area near the Red Sea port of Eliat in March.
Israel boasts a fierce air defence system known as the "Iron Dome", one of the world's most advanced networks of aerial protection.
The group - responsible for vicious attacks on Israel or Israeli-allied ships in the Red Sea since October last year - have also aimed drones at Israel.
One hit Tel Aviv for the first time in July, killing a man and injuring four others.
This led to IDF airstrikes on Houthi targets near the port of Hodeidah in Yemen, where they are based.
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The attack killed six and wounded 80 more.
Sarea swore that Israel should expect more strikes "as we approach the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 operation, including responding to its aggression on the city of Hodeidah".
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