Sanaa, March 21 : Yemen's Houthi group early morning Friday claimed responsibility for a ballistic missile attack on southern Tel Aviv, a Houthi military spokesperson said in a televised statement.

"In support of the Palestinian people and response to the massacres perpetrated by Israel in the Gaza Strip, our forces carried out a qualitative military operation targeting an Israeli military target south of Tel Aviv, using a hypersonic ballistic missile," Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in the statement aired by the group's al-Masirah TV.

"This is the second operation within 24 hours," he said, referring to the first ballistic missile attack that the group said was aimed at the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, which Israel announced it intercepted.

He reiterated that the group would continue attacks on Israel and its ships until the war on Gaza ceases and crossings reopen to allow aid in, Xinhua news agency reported.

On Thursday morning, the Houthi group also claimed it had launched strikes against the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier in the northern Red Sea, marking the fifth such strike since Saturday.

In response, the US military has resumed air attacks on Houthi targets since Saturday, claiming its campaign aims to protect international shipping. The new round of US airstrikes has killed dozens of people, according to Houthi-run health authorities.

The Houthi group controls a large swath of Yemen, including the strategic Hodeidah port and the capital Sanaa, after a civil war broke out in 2014.

/IANS