Aden, Oct 29 (IANS): Yemen's Houthi group claimed on Tuesday that its forces conducted a drone attack targeting an industrial zone in Ashkelon, southern Israel.

Yahya Sarea, the group's military spokesman, announced on the Houthi-operated Al-Masirah television channel that the operation was executed by the group's drone air force unit, describing it as a "qualitative military operation."

"The drones successfully reached their designated targets in the industrial zone of the Israeli enemy in the Ashkelon area, south of occupied Palestine," Sarea stated.

Meanwhile, the IDF reported on Tuesday that a drone launched from Yemen exploded in an open area in Ashkelon with no casualties, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Yemeni military spokesman emphasized that the Houthi forces would persist with their military operations in response to what he described as "Israeli crimes" in Gaza and Lebanon. He indicated that such operations would continue until "the aggression stops, the siege on the Gaza Strip is lifted, and the aggression on Lebanon stops."

Since October 2023, the Houthi group has been conducting intermittent missile and drone attacks against Israeli targets. The group has also targeted vessels in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab Strait, and Gulf of Aden that it claims have connections to Israel.