Sanaa, Dec 17 (IANS): A US military warplane made an airstrike on the Defence Ministry building in the Houthi rebel-held Yemeni capital of Sanaa late on Monday night.

The Houthi-run al-Masirah TV said the 'US aggression' took place overnight, noting that the group vowed to retaliate by targeting "US interests and shipping in the Red Sea."

Local residents reported seeing several ambulances entering the facility late on Monday night as Houthi fighters cordoned off the area in downtown Sanaa until dawn on Tuesday.

The US Central Command confirmed in a statement that it conducted a "precision airstrike against a key command and control facility operated by Iran-backed Houthis within Houthi-controlled territory in Sanaa, Yemen."

"The targeted facility was a hub for coordinating Houthi operations, such as attacks against US Navy warships and merchant vessels in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden," it said.

The US airstrike came just hours after the Houthi group claimed responsibility for launching a 'hypersonic missile' at the Israeli city of Tel Aviv on Monday, saying it hit a 'military target' there and vowing to launch more attacks.

Israeli media on Monday reported that sirens were activated in Tel Aviv after a rocket was detected launched from Yemen over the region's sky, Xinhua news agency reported.

Also on Monday, al-Masirah TV reported a US strike on the southern edge of the Midi district in Yemen's northwestern Hajjah province. According to two Yemeni government military sources, the strike targeted a mobile rocket launcher belonging to the Houthi group near the Red Sea. The US military has not commented on the alleged airstrike.

Since November 2023, the Houthi group has been carrying out rocket and drone attacks on Israeli cities, and disrupted 'Israeli-linked' shipping in the Red Sea.

In response, the US-led navy coalition stationed in the area has been conducting regular air raids on Houthi targets since January in a bid to deter the armed group.