Houthi rebels in Yemen said on Monday they had carried out their fourth attack in 72 hours on the US aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman in the Red Sea, in retaliation for a new series of US bombings in areas of the country they control.

The Houthis "detected hostile military movements in the Red Sea in preparation for launching a new major airstrike against our country," a spokesman for the group said via Telegram.

In retaliation, he continued, the movement launched cruise missiles and drones against the aircraft carrier and other warships, which "allowed this attack to fail."

The US military is not responding to the claim of responsibility at this stage.

Previously, media outlets close to the Houthi movement reported new US attacks on various areas under rebel control.

For its part, the US Joint Command responsible for the Middle East region (CENTCOM, "central command") spoke via X about "continuous operations against Iran-backed Houthi terrorists", without further clarification.

The "American strike" was aimed at Saada province, according to the movement-controlled Saba news agency and the Al-Masirah television network, also linked to the rebels.

Witnesses told Agence France-Presse of at least three bomb attacks in Saada. Al-Masirah reported four more attacks on the Houthi stronghold shortly afterwards.

Earlier yesterday, the Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack on the “Nevatim base” in the Negev desert, southern Israel, saying they used a hypersonic ballistic missile “Palestine 2”. For its part, the Israeli armed forces announced that they had “intercepted” a missile launched from Yemen. Alarm sirens sounded in several cities in southern Israel.

This was the first attack on Israeli territory from Yemeni territory since a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip came into effect on January 19. It followed a series of massive Israeli airstrikes on the Palestinian enclave in the early hours of yesterday, killing over 400 people.

The Houthis, who are close to Tehran, have condemned the deadly airstrikes and vowed further escalation. They have also recently threatened to continue attacks on ships they say are linked to Israel in the Red Sea.

"We condemn the continuation of the Zionist enemy's attack on the Gaza Strip and the targeting of unarmed civilians," the movement's Supreme Political Council said in a statement.

The Houthis "will intensify their military operations against the Zionist enemy until the barbaric attack on Gaza stops and the blockade" on the enclave is lifted, their spokesman added via Telegram.

Yesterday's Israeli bombings resulted in the deaths of at least 413 people in the Gaza Strip, according to the latest figures from the Hamas government's Health Ministry.

About a month after the outbreak of the war in the Gaza Strip, triggered by Hamas' unprecedented incursion into southern Israeli territory on October 7, 2023, the Houthis began rocket and drone attacks against Israel and against ships they said were affiliated with it, emphasizing that they were acting in solidarity with the Palestinians.

US President Donald Trump on Saturday announced airstrikes on Houthi strongholds in Yemen. The bombings in Sanaa and elsewhere killed 53 people and wounded 98, the Houthis said. Many of the Shiite rebel leaders were killed, the US government said.