JERUSALEM: A missile fired by Yemen's Iran-backed rebels landed in an open area in central Israel early Sunday and triggered air raid sirens at its international airport.
There were no reports of casualties or major damage, but Israeli media aired footage showing people racing to shelters in Ben Gurion international airport. The airport authority said it resumed normal operations shortly thereafter.
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.
The Yemeni rebels, known as Houthis, have repeatedly fired drones and missiles toward Israel since the start of the war in Gaza between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, but nearly all of them have been intercepted over the Red Sea.
Brigadier General Yahya Saree, a military spokesman for the rebels, said they fired a ballistic missile targeting “a military target” in Jaffa, which is part 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 platform X.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday warned Yemen's Huthi rebels of retaliation after the group claimed a missile attack on central Israel.
"This morning, the Huthis launched a surface-to-surface missile from Yemen into our territory. They should have known by now that we charge a heavy price for any attempt to harm us," Netanyahu said at the start of a cabinet meeting, according to a statement from his office.
"Those who need a reminder in this matter are invited to visit the port of Hodeida," he added, referring to Yemen's Red Sea city that Israeli warplanes bombed in July after the Huthis claimed a drone strike that killed a civilian in Tel Aviv.