At least 35 people were killed in Israeli air strikes on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen on Wednesday, according to the Iran-backed group's health ministry.
The Israeli military said it struck military targets in the capital Sanaa and al-Jawf province, including what it called the Houthis' military public relations headquarters, in response to recent missile and drone attacks on Israel.
However, the Houthis' military spokesman said the targets were civilian, adding that journalists and passersby were killed when the offices of two newspapers were hit.
In the early hours of Thursday, the Israeli military said it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen.
The Houthis did not comment on the launch, but one of the group's leaders had vowed to respond to the Israeli strikes with all our might. Last month, an Israeli strike in Sanaa killed the prime minister of the Houthi-run government, Ahmed al-Rahawi, and several ministers.
Videos posted online on Wednesday afternoon showed plumes of black smoke rising from the sites of several explosions in Sanaa, and first responders searching through the rubble of damaged buildings.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced in a statement that aircraft had struck an unspecified number of military targets in the capital and in al-Jawf, including military camps, a fuel storage facility and what it called the Houthis' public relations department.
It said the department was responsible for distributing and disseminating propaganda messages in the media, including speeches of the Houthi leader Abdul Malik [al-Houthi] and the spokesman Yahya Sarea's statements. The military camps had been used to plan attacks on Israel, it added.
Those attacks have involved the launch of hundreds of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and surface-to-surface missiles towards Israeli territory over almost two years. Most have been intercepted, but one drone hit an airport in southern Israel on Sunday, wounding one person.
Prior to the attacks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that the Israeli military had eliminated many members of the Houthi government, further escalating the hostilities.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea stated that Israel's air strikes had targeted purely civilian locations, contradicting Israeli military claims.
The group has controlled much of north-western Yemen since ousting the internationally recognized government over a decade ago, leading to ongoing civil conflict. Their recent actions against Israel and international shipping are claimed to be in support of the Palestinians amidst the intensifying conflict in Gaza.