The attack claimed by Yemeni rebels did not cause any casualties or major damage.
A missile fired by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels landed in an unpopulated area of central Israel early Sunday and triggered air raid sirens at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport.
There were no reports of casualties or major damage, but Israeli media reported footage of people rushing to shelters at the airport. The airport authority said it resumed normal operations shortly afterward.
A fire was visible in a rural area of central Israel, and local media showed images of what appeared to be a fragment of an interceptor landing on an escalator at a train station in the central city of Modiin.
The Israeli military said it made several attempts to intercept the missile using its multi-layered air defenses, but has not yet determined whether those attempts were successful. The missile appears to have fragmented in flight, and the incident is still under investigation. The military said the sound of explosions in the area came from the interceptors.
Yemeni rebels have repeatedly fired drones and missiles at Israel since the start of the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas, but almost all have been intercepted over the Red Sea.
In July, an Iranian-made drone launched by the Houthis struck Tel Aviv, killing one person and wounding ten others. Israel responded with a wave of airstrikes on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, including the port city of Hodeidah, a Houthi stronghold.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted he would respond in kind at a cabinet meeting after Sunday’s attack.
“The Houthis should know today that we pay a heavy price for any attempt to harm us”he said. “Anyone who needs a booster is invited to go to the port of Hodeidah.”
Brigadier General Yahya Saree, the rebels’ military spokesman, said they had fired a ballistic missile targeting “a military target” in the Tel Aviv area.
