INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would inflict a &heavy price& on the Iran-aligned Houthis who control northern Yemen, after
they reached central Israel with a missile on Sunday for the first time, Reuters reported.Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said the
group struck with a new hypersonic ballistic missile that travelled 2,040 km (1270 miles) in just 11 1/2 minutes.An Israeli military
official said the missile was hit by an interceptor and fragmented in the air, rather than being completely destroyed.Air raid sirens had
sounded in Tel Aviv and across central Israel moments before the impact at around 6:35 a.m
local time (0335 GMT), sending residents running for shelter
Loud booms were heard, read the report.Missile pieces landed in fields and near a railway station
There were no direct casualties, but nine people were lightly hurt while seeking cover
Reuters saw smoke billowing in an open field in central Israel.At a weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said the Houthis should have known
that Israel would exact a &heavy price& for attacks on Israel.&Whoever needs a reminder of that is invited to visit the Hodeida port,&
Netanyahu said, referring to an Israeli retaliatory air strike against Yemen in July for a Houthi drone that hit Tel Aviv.The Houthis have
fired missiles and drones at Israel repeatedly in what they say is solidarity with the Palestinians, since the Gaza war began with a Hamas
attack on Israel in October, Reuters reported.The drone that hit Tel Aviv for the first time in July killed a man and wounded four people
Israeli air strikes in response on Houthi military targets near the port of Hodeidah killed six and wounded 80.Previously, Houthi missiles
have not penetrated deep into Israeli air space, with the only one reported to have hit Israeli territory falling in an open area near the
Red Sea port of Eilat in March.Israel should expect more strikes in the future &as we approach the first anniversary of the Oct
7 operation, including responding to its aggression on the city of Hodeidah,& Houthis spokesperson Sarea said.The deputy head of the
Houthi&s media office, Nasruddin Amer, said in a post on X on Sunday that the missile had reached Israel after &20 missiles failed to
intercept& it, describing it as the &beginning&.The post Houthi missile reaches central Israel for first time, no injuries reported first
