Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis fired a ballistic missile at Israel on Friday evening, the fourth such launch since Israel renewed strikes on the Gaza Strip.

The Israel Defense Forces said the missile was successfully intercepted by air defenses and shot down before crossing Israel’s borders. There were no reports of injuries or damage in the attack, which triggered sirens in Central Israel, Jerusalem and surrounding towns and West Bank settlements.

The missile launch came after Houthi media in Yemen reported strikes on the Iran-backed rebels’ homeland of Saada, blaming “American aggression.”

The rebels’ Al-Masirah TV cited their correspondent in Saada, in Yemen’s north, for their latest claim of strikes since the United States on Saturday said it carried out airstrikes that killed several Houthi leaders after the rebels said they would resume attacks on Israeli shipping.

The Houthi-run health ministry said the US strikes on Saturday had killed 53 people and wounded nearly 100 others.

Washington began the new military offensive on Saturday, promising to use overwhelming force until the Iran-backed group stops firing on vessels in the key shipping routes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

In return, the Houthis claim that they have repeatedly attacked a US aircraft carrier battle group.

Citing an Israeli official, the Ynet news site reported on Thursday that Washington had asked Israel not to respond to the Houthis’ latest missile attacks. According to the report, the US told Israel to “let them deal with it.”

The strikes on the Houthis are the largest American military operation in the Middle East since US President Donald Trump took office. Trump has said he would hold Iran responsible for the Houthi strikes.

The Houthis began attacking the vital maritime route in November 2023, a month after fellow Iran-backed group Hamas stormed southern Israel on October 7, 2023, to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.

While the Houthis have said they were attacking Israeli-linked shipping in support of Gaza, they have also targeted vessels with no known Israeli connections.

The Houthis — whose slogan is “Death to America, death to Israel, a curse upon the Jews” — halted their attacks after Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire and hostage deal in January. The Yemeni rebels pledged to resume attacks after the deal’s 42-day first phase expired on March 2, and Israel, which sought to extend phase one of the deal, and Hamas refused, blocked the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

It began launching missiles in response to Israel’s renewed offensive in Gaza on Tuesday.

Agencies contributed to this report.