DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched a missile early Wednesday toward northern Israel, the first such attack by the group to reach the area as a monthlong intense U.S. airstrike campaign continues to target them. The Houthis separately claimed shooting down another American MQ-9 Reaper drone over Yemen.

Sirens sounded in Haifa, Krayot and other areas west of the Sea of Galilee, the Israeli military said.

“An interceptor was launched toward the missile, and the missile was most likely successfully intercepted,” the Israeli military said.

Those in the area could hear booms in the predawn darkness.

Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree later claimed the attack in a prerecorded message, claiming they targeted Haifa with a hypersonic missile. But while Saree has claimed attacks on Haifa in the past, Wednesday’s attack was the first to reach the area, the Israeli military acknowledged.

American airstrikes, meanwhile, continued targeting the Houthis on Wednesday morning, part of a campaign that began on March 15. The Houthis reported strikes on Hodeida, Marib and Saada governorates. In Marib, the Houthis described a strike hitting telecommunication equipment, which has previously been a target of the Americans.

Houthis claim to have downed another U.S. drone

The Houthis in response have stepped up their targeting of American drones flying over the country. Late Tuesday, Saree said the rebels shot down an MQ-9 Reaper drone over Yemen’s Hajjah governorate.

The U.S. military acknowledged the report of the drone being downed, but said it could not comment further.

Saree said the rebels targeted the drone with “a locally manufactured missile.” The Houthis have surface-to-air missiles — such as the Iranian missile known as the 358 — capable of downing aircraft. The Houthis claim they downed 26 MQ-9s over the last decade of the Yemen war.

Iran denies arming the rebels, though Tehran-manufactured weaponry has been found on the battlefield and in sea shipments heading to Yemen for the Shiite Houthi rebels despite a United Nations arms embargo.

General Atomics Reapers, which cost around $30 million apiece, can fly at altitudes over 40,000 feet.