Israel prepares response to Houthis amid Gaza strikes

Israel may launch an aggressive response against Yemen's Houthi forces in the coming weeks, according to The Jerusalem Post, as Israeli airstrikes on Gaza persist despite growing cease-fire momentum.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said on Monday that the group launched a hypersonic ballistic missile, named "Palestine 2", targeting central Israel, vowing to continue military operations against Israel until its assault on Gaza ends, Al Jazeera reported.

"The operation has successfully achieved its objectives," Saree said.

The Israel Defense Forces reported intercepting the missile before it reached Israeli territory, but alerts were triggered because of the risk of falling debris.

Saree said the attack was in response to Israel's "massacres" against Palestinians in Gaza and warned that the Houthis would escalate their military actions unless the siege of Gaza is lifted and attacks on the region cease.

Following the missile attack, The Jerusalem Post reported on Monday that Israel is expected to attack the Houthis in the coming weeks.

In addition, the US military said it conducted an airstrike on Monday against a command and control facility operated by the Houthis in Yemen.

Meanwhile, in northern Gaza, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya said on Wednesday that "gunfire and tank shells "caused a fire in the intensive care unit, with some patients suffering burns. The Israeli military said it was looking into the incident.

Hospital director Hossam Abu Safia told AFP that staff members had to quickly move all patients out of the intensive care unit.

Gaza's civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that a child was killed and several others were wounded in a strike that hit a house in Jabalia, where Israeli forces have focused their operations in recent months.

In a statement on Tuesday, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said Israeli soldiers "have been using aerial bombardment, explosive-laden robots and bulldozers to lay waste to Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun in North Gaza".

"Israel's actions align with a broader policy of urbicide, where the destruction targets not just Palestinian individuals and property, but the erasure of their cultural and civilizational existence," the Geneva-based group said, adding that the urbicide — the deliberate destruction of a city or urban environment — is not limited to Gaza.

UNICEF said on X on Tuesday that Gaza has been "nothing short of hell on Earth" and called on all parties to the conflict, and on "those with influence over them", to take decisive action to end the suffering of children.

In another development, Hamas said on Tuesday that reaching an agreement for a cease-fire and prisoner exchange is possible if Israel stops setting new conditions.

The current talks were "serious and positive", Hamas said, while Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz described the two sides as being closer to a deal than ever before.

Agencies and Xinhua contributed to this story.

Contact the writers at jan@chinadailyapac.com