Army: Rocket from Yemen fell in the center of Israel

On Sunday, a rocket fired from Yemen by Yemeni rebels sparked a rush on shelters in central Israel. Although no one was injured, tensions in the region rose again almost a year after the start of the Gaza war.

Following the incident, AFP photographers spotted firefighters putting out a bush fire near Lod and saw broken glass at a train station in Modin, about 20 kilometers southeast of Tel Aviv, Israel's commercial center.

The Houthi rebels in Yemen who claimed responsibility for the attack are among the Iran-backed groups in the Middle East that were drawn into the conflict after the attack by Palestinian Hamas militias on Israel in October sparked the war in the Gaza Strip.

The rebels attacked an Israeli “military position” in the Jaffa area near Tel Aviv, using a “ballistic missile that reached its target,” Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said in a video message, adding that “enemy defenses failed to intercept it.”

In July, the Houthis claimed responsibility for a drone attack that penetrated Israeli air defenses and killed a civilian in Tel Aviv, at least 1,800 kilometers from Yemen.

The Israeli military said that “a surface-to-surface missile was sighted entering central Israel from the east and hitting open terrain. No injuries were reported.”

“The missile was fired from Yemen,” it was later said.

Sirens sounded before the rocket was fired, the military said, which, according to local media reports, led to a search for shelters in the greater Tel Aviv area.

An emergency service reported that several people were slightly injured “on the way to emergency accommodation.”

Israeli police said they were at the scene of the crash near Shfela, east of Tel Aviv, where a piece of shrapnel from an anti-aircraft interceptor fell, but there were no injuries.

In the wake of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Yemeni Houthis are carrying out attacks against Israel and its perceived interests, which they believe represent solidarity with the Palestinians.

The rebels are part of the “Axis of Resistance,” which also includes militant groups allied with Tehran in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

– Deadly ship attacks –

Since November, the Houthis have carried out dozens of missile and drone attacks on ships in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea that are crucial to global trade.

Several Filipino sailors were killed in the attacks, which led to US military retaliation against Houthi targets.

Last month, Houthi missiles struck a Greek-flagged tanker carrying more than a million barrels of crude oil. The tanker caught fire off the coast of the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah, threatening an environmental disaster.

A source in the Greek Defense Ministry told AFP on Saturday that the Sounion ship was being towed north under military escort as part of a salvage operation.

Following the Houthi attack on Tel Aviv in July, Israeli warplanes bombed Houthi-controlled Hodeidah. According to the rebels, they destroyed large parts of the facility's fuel storage capacity and killed several people.

It was Israel’s first attack in Yemen for which it claimed responsibility.

A rebel official threatened escalation at the time, and a Houthi statement last month “reiterated that the Yemeni response is definitely imminent.”

On Israel's northern flank, the Lebanese Hezbollah movement regularly engages in cross-border firefights with Israeli forces that threaten to escalate into open war.

On Sunday morning, about 40 missiles were fired from Lebanon towards the Israeli region of Upper Galilee and the annexed Golan Heights, the Israeli military said.

– Israelis protest –

Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Qassem said in a speech on Saturday that his group had “no intention of going to war,” but if Israel were to “unleash a war,” “there will be huge losses on both sides” and “hundreds of thousands more will be displaced.”

He spoke after Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel was determined to restore security on its northern front.

In the cross-border violence since the beginning of October, more than 600 people have been killed in Lebanon, mostly fighters. On the Israeli side, around 50 people have died, including soldiers and civilians.

Hezbollah said it supported Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The Hamas attack that started the war in the Gaza Strip left 1,205 people dead, most of them civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures.

The militants also captured 251 hostages, 97 of whom are still in the Gaza Strip. According to the Israeli military, 33 of them are dead.

According to the Health Ministry of the Hamas-controlled area, at least 41,206 people have been killed in the Israeli retaliatory campaign in the Gaza Strip. However, the ministry did not provide a breakdown of the casualties among civilians and militants.

Gaza's civil defense reported on Sunday that Israeli air strikes killed at least three people in central Gaza and another in the outskirts of Gaza City.

Months of efforts by Qatari, Egyptian and American mediators have so far failed to achieve a ceasefire or the release of hostages. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government is facing increasing anger from critics who accuse him of not doing enough to secure the release of the prisoners.

On Saturday, thousands of people again took to the streets in Israel's largest cities to pressure the government to reach an agreement.