Yemen’s Houthis say they targeted three U.S. destroyers in the Red Sea

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group said on Friday they attacked the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Ashkelon, as well as three U.S. destroyers in the Red Sea in support of Gaza and Lebanon, using missiles and drones.

The Israeli military said it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen and sounded an alarm in central Israel.

A Houthi spokesman said the operations would not stop until Israel stopped its attacks on Gaza and Lebanon. Yahya Sari said the group attacked Tel Aviv with ballistic missiles and launched a drone at Ashkelon in southern Israel.

He added in a televised speech, “We will carry out more military operations against Israel’s enemies and win victory with the blood of our Palestinian and Lebanese brothers.”

Sari also said in a separate televised speech that the group simultaneously attacked three U.S. destroyers in the Red Sea with 23 ballistic missiles, wing-launched missiles, and a drone as the ships were heading to support Israel.

A U.S. official said the U.S. Navy ship intercepted a barrage of projectiles, including missiles and drones, fired by the Houthis through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing preliminary information that could change, said none of the three warships in the area were damaged.

Israeli airstrikes have killed more than 600 people in Lebanon since Monday, as the conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah has become the most intense in 18 years.

Hezbollah has been firing rockets into Israel for nearly a year in support of Hamas, the Palestinian-allied movement fighting Israel in Gaza. More than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks, according to Gaza health authorities. The war began when Hamas militants launched attacks on Israel that left 1,200 people dead and more than 250 hostages taken, according to Israeli statistics.