A rocket fired by Yemeni rebels lands in Israel and sets off sirens at the international airport

JERUSALEM (AP) — A rocket fired by Iran-backed rebels in Yemen landed in open terrain in central Israel early Sunday, setting off air raid sirens at the country's international airport, the latest reverberation of the nearly year-long war in Gaza. Israel hinted it would respond militarily.

There were no reports of casualties or major damage, but Israeli media showed footage of people running to emergency shelters at Ben Gurion Airport. The airport authority said it resumed normal operations shortly afterward.

Fire was seen in a rural area in central Israel and local media showed images of what appeared to be shrapnel from an interceptor missile that had landed on an escalator at a train station in the central Israeli city of Modiin.

The Israeli military said it made several attempts to intercept the missile using its multi-stage air defenses, but could not yet say whether any of them were successful. It said the missile appeared to have fragmented in mid-air and the incident was still being investigated. The military said the sounds of explosions in the area came from interceptor missiles.

Yemeni rebels known as the Houthis have repeatedly fired drones and rockets towards Israel since the war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas began, but almost all of these attacks have been intercepted over the Red Sea.

A police officer inspects the area around a fire after the military said it fired interceptors at a rocket fired from Yemen that landed in central Israel, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Ohad Zwigenberg

In July, an Iranian-made drone fired by the Houthis attacked Tel Aviv, killing one person and wounding ten others. Israel responded with a wave of airstrikes on Houthis-controlled areas in Yemen, including the port city of Hodeidah, a Houthis stronghold.

Israel announces response to attack

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

“The Houthis should know by now that we demand a high price for any attempt to harm us,” he said. “Anyone who needs a reminder is welcome to visit the port of Hodeidah.”

Brigadier General Yahya Saree, a rebel military spokesman, said they fired a ballistic missile at “a military target” in the Tel Aviv area.

Hashim Sharaf al-Din, a spokesman for the Houthi government, said Yemenis would celebrate the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, while “Israelis must stay in shelters.” Another senior Houthi official, Hezam al-Asad, posted a mocking message in Hebrew on the social media platform X.

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

The war in Gaza, which began with Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel, has spread throughout the region. Iran and its militant groups have attacked Israeli and American targets, prompting retaliatory strikes by Israel and its Western allies. On several occasions, the attacks and counterattacks have threatened to spark a larger conflict.

Since the war began, international airlines have repeatedly cancelled flights to and from Israel, further increasing the economic burden of the war on the country.

Iran supports militant groups across the region, including Hamas, the Houthis and Lebanon's Hezbollah, its strongest ally, which has skirmished with Israel almost daily since the Gaza war began. Iran and its allies say they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians.

Missile launch from Lebanon

The military said about 40 missiles were fired from Lebanon early Sunday. Most were intercepted or landed in open areas.

In another incident, Israeli forces dropped leaflets over the Lebanese border town of al-Wazzani calling on residents to evacuate. The military later said there were no evacuation orders and that a local commander had acted without the approval of his superiors. The incident was being investigated, it said.

It was not clear whether anyone had evacuated the city or whether residents had been told that the leaflets had been dropped in error.

The attacks along the Israeli-Lebanese border have displaced tens of thousands of people on both sides, and Israel has repeatedly threatened to launch a broader military operation against Hezbollah to ensure its citizens can return to their homes.

“The status quo will not continue,” Netanyahu said at the cabinet meeting. “This requires a change in the balance of power on our northern border. We will do whatever is necessary to return our residents safely to their homes.”

Smuggling tunnel blocked in Gaza Strip

Hezbollah has said it will stop its attacks if a ceasefire is reached in Gaza. The United States and Arab mediators Egypt and Qatar have spent much of this year trying to negotiate a ceasefire and the release of scores of hostages held by Hamas, but talks have repeatedly stalled.

In recent weeks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted on permanent Israeli control over the Gaza side of the border with Egypt, which Israeli forces captured in May. He said Hamas uses a network of tunnels under the border to import weapons. Egypt, which like Hamas opposes a permanent Israeli presence there, denies these allegations.

An Israeli military official said late Saturday that of the dozens of tunnels discovered along the border, only nine led into Egypt and all were sealed. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss classified information, said it was not clear when the tunnels were sealed.

The discovery appears to weaken Netanyahu's argument that Israel must maintain control over the corridor indefinitely to prevent cross-border smuggling.

Egypt said it sealed off the tunnels on its side of the border years ago, including by creating its own military buffer zone along the border.

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Melzer reported from Nahariya, Israel. Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo and Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

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