The Iran-backed Houthi group in Yemen fired a ballistic missile at Israel Thursday morning, which fell short in an open area outside the country.

Defense Minister Israel Katz responded to the attack, writing on X: “The Houthis are firing missiles at Israel again. A plague of darkness, a plague of [death of] the firstborn – we will complete all ten plagues.”

The tweet was a reference to the biblical story of the exodus from Egypt, according to which God struck the Egyptians with ten plagues before Pharaoh allowed the Hebrews, who’d been enslaved, to leave.

The missile launch Thursday marked the Houthis’ third attack on Israel in 24 hours, after the military intercepted two missiles on Wednesday, one in the morning and one in the evening.

The missile fired Wednesday morning was carrying a cluster munition warhead, the Israel Defense Forces said.

There were no injuries in any of the three incidents.

The recent launches came as the group continued its wave of missile and drone launches over the past week, after Israeli airstrikes killed Houthi Prime Minister Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser al-Rahawi and several members of his cabinet.

On Tuesday, the IDF said that two Houthi missiles launched at Israel had disintegrated over Saudi Arabia.

The Houthis also recently launched several missiles at ships linked to Israel, though there have been no reported impacts.

According to Saudi reports, the remaining Houthi leaders have fled the rebel-held capital of Sanaa out of fear of further Israeli strikes.

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 Hamas terror group’s October 7 massacre and hostage-taking in southern Israel.

The Houthis temporarily held their fire when a ceasefire was reached between Israel and Hamas in January 2025. By then, they had fired over 40 ballistic missiles and dozens of drones and cruise missiles at Israel, including one that killed a civilian and wounded several others in Tel Aviv in July 2024, prompting Israel’s first strike in Yemen.

Since March 18, when the IDF resumed its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, they have launched more than 71 ballistic missiles and at least 23 drones at Israel. Several of the missiles have fallen short.

Neither the UN nor the EU recognizes the group as the legitimate government in Yemen, and the UN designates the Houthis as a terrorist organization. The Western-recognized Republic of Yemen, which is battling the rebels, is the country’s official representative at the UN.