Missile fired from Yemen lands in open area of Israel

A long-range missile fired from Yemen has landed in an open area in central Israel, the military has said.

The attack early on Sunday triggered air raid sirens, including at Ben Gurion International Airport, where local media aired footage of people racing to shelters. There were no reports of casualties or damage, and the airport authority said operations resumed as normal shortly afterwards.

A fire could be seen in a rural area of central Israel, and local media showed images of what appeared to be a fragment from a missile or interceptor that landed on an escalator in a train station in the central town of Modiin. The military said the sound of explosions in the area came from interceptors.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have repeatedly fired drones and missiles towards Israel since the start of the nearly year-long war between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, but nearly all of them have been intercepted over the Red Sea.

Yahya Saree, a military spokesman for the rebels, said on Sunday they fired a ballistic missile targeting “a military target” in the area of Tel Aviv.

Hashim Sharaf al-Din, a spokesperson for the Houthi-run government, said Yemenis will celebrate the birthday of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad while “the Israelis will have to be in shelters”. Another senior Houthi official, Hezam al-Asad, posted a taunting message in Hebrew on the social media platform X.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted at a similar response in remarks at a cabinet meeting after Sunday’s attack.

“The Houthis should have known by now that we exact a heavy price for any attempt to harm us,” he said. “Anyone who needs a reminder is invited to visit the port of Hodeidah.”

The Houthis have also repeatedly attacked commercial shipping in the Red Sea, in what the rebels portray as a blockade on Israel in support of the Palestinians. Most of the targeted ships have no connection to Israel.

The war in Gaza, which began with Hamas’s October 7 attack into southern Israel, has rippled across the region, with Iran and allied militant groups attacking Israeli and US targets and drawing retaliatory strikes from Israel and its Western allies. On several occasions, the strikes and counter-strikes have threatened to trigger a wider conflict.

Iran supports militant groups across the region, including Hamas, the Houthis and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, its most powerful ally, which has traded fire with Israel on a near-daily basis since the war in Gaza began. Iran and its allies say they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians.

The Israeli military said around 40 projectiles were fired from Lebanon early on Sunday, with most intercepted or falling in open areas.

The strikes along the Israel-Lebanon border have displaced tens of thousands of people on both sides. Israel has repeatedly threatened to launch a wider military operation against Hezbollah to ensure its citizens can return to their homes.