Missile fired from Yemen lands in open area in central Israel and sets of air raid sirens

JERUSALEM (AP) — A long-range missile fired from Yemen landed in an open area in central Israel early Sunday, the Israeli military said.

The early morning attack triggered air raid sirens, including at Israel’s international airport, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. The military said the sound of explosions in the area came from interceptors.

Israeli media aired footage of passengers racing to safe rooms at Ben Gurion International Airport and taking cover on a train. They also showed images of a fragment that landed on an escalator in a train station in the central town of Modiin.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have repeatedly fired drones and missiles toward Israel since the start of the war in Gaza but nearly all of them 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 10 others. Israel responded with a wave of air strikes on Houthi-held areas of Yemen.

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 nearly yearlong war in Gaza, which began with Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into southern Israel, has rippled across the region, with Iran and allied militant groups attacking Israeli and U.S. targets and drawing retaliatory strikes from Israel and its Western allies.

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