Sanaa (AFP) – Israel struck Sanaa on Thursday, killing at least eight people and wounding more than 140, Yemen’s Huthis said, a day after the rebels launched a drone attack on southern Israel.

Israeli forces struck several Huthi-linked targets in the rebel-held capital, Israeli officials said, warning of more attacks to come. Huthi media said the targets included a detention facility.

The Israeli military later said “a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted”, after sirens sounded in central Israel.

AFP correspondents in Sanaa heard explosions and saw plumes of smoke rising from three locations in the Sanaa area, in the latest retaliatory attack since the Huthis began targeting Israel in the wake of the Gaza war.

Huthi health ministry spokesman Anees Alasbahi said in a post on X that the tally “rose to eight martyrs and 142 wounded”, adding that rescuers were still searching for victims under the rubble.

The Huthis’ Al-Masirah television channel said, citing a security source, that Israel “targeted one of the (security and intelligence) service’s correctional facilities, which houses a number of prisoners and detainees”.

Al-Masirah earlier said that a power station and two residential neighbourhoods had been targeted, sharing pictures that showed low-rise buildings with bombed-out windows.

One picture showed twisted metal and pieces of concrete filled the street as people looked on, with another photo showing people on the roof of a badly damaged building.

An Israeli military statement said the targets included the Huthis’ general staff headquarters, other security and intelligence sites including some used to store weapons and “plan and execute” attacks on Israel.

It added that the rebels’ “military public relations headquarters” was also targeted.

The Israeli strikes on Sanaa came moments before Al-Masirah began broadcasting rebel leader Abdul Malik al-Huthi’s weekly pre-recorded speech.

The impact sites were cordoned off, an AFP correspondent said. The Huthi authorities have previously warned Yemenis against publishing footage of locations hit in strikes, describing it as “a service to the enemy”.

On Wednesday, a drone attack claimed by the Huthis struck the southern Israeli tourist resort of Eilat after failed attempts by Israel’s air defences to intercept it.

Rescuers reported 22 wounded including two in serious condition.