The Houthi group announced today, Friday, that it had bombed the cities of Tel Aviv and Ashkelon in central and southern Israel, on Thursday night - Friday, with a ballistic missile and a drone.

The Houthi military spokesman said in a video statement that his group "carried out two military operations against Israeli enemy targets in the areas of Jaffa (adjacent to Tel Aviv) and Ashkelon in occupied Palestine."

He added: "We targeted the Jaffa area with a 'Palestine 2' ballistic missile, while a vital target in the Ashkelon area was struck with a 'Jaffa' drone."

He pointed out that the two operations "successfully hit their targets," vowing "more strikes; in victory for the blood of our brothers in Palestine and Lebanon."

The Israeli army announced, after midnight on Thursday, that one "surface-to-surface" missile was launched from Yemen and was intercepted outside the country's borders.

Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said yesterday, Thursday, that his forces carried out operations during the current week with 39 ballistic, winged and unmanned missiles, without clarifying the targeted locations.

In a speech, Al-Houthi said: “We carried out operations during this week with 39 ballistic, winged and unmanned missiles,” adding: “We were able to manufacture a new missile that we called ‘Palestine 2’, which will enter service as part of the fifth phase of the escalation in support of Gaza.”

He warned that "the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden have become a completely forbidden area for the Israeli, American and British enemy."

Regarding the events in Lebanon, the Houthi leader said, "The Israeli goal of the escalation in Lebanon is to prevent Hezbollah from supporting Gaza and the Palestinian people, and this is a goal that will not be achieved."

In solidarity with Gaza, which has been subjected to a devastating Israeli war since October 7, the Houthis targeted Israeli or Israeli-linked cargo ships in the Red and Arabian Seas with missiles and drones.

With the intervention of Washington and London through a coalition that launched strikes on Houthi sites in Yemen, and the tension taking an escalating direction in January, the Houthis announced that they now consider all American and British ships among their military targets.

Recently, the Houthis said they would expand the strikes to “include enemy-linked ships passing through the Indian Ocean via the Cape of Good Hope route.”