ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - At least 16 people were wounded after a ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels made impact in central Israel’s Tel Aviv overnight, amid increasing exchange of cross-border fire between the two sides.

The missile exploded in a public park in south Israel in the early hours of Saturday after failed attempts at interception by the Israeli forces and defense systems. Israeli media claimed that all 16 injuries were minor.

The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack shortly after, saying their forces launched a “Palestine 2” hypersonic ballistic missile toward an Israeli military target in Tel Aviv. The attack was in response to Israel’s offensive on Yemen and its “massacres” in Gaza, according to the group’s military spokesperson Yahya Saree.

“The missile struck its target accurately, and the defenses and interception systems did not succeed in thwarting it,” said Saree in a video statement.

The attack comes days after the Israeli military launched a series of airstrikes on Yemen, targeting the capital Sanaa and the coastal province of Hodeidah, hours after the Houthis launched a ballistic missile towards Tel Aviv, which Israel said was intercepted.

At least nine people were killed in Israel’s Thursday attack on Yemen, which struck key infrastructure in Sanaa, including electricity stations in Haziz and Dhahban.