A rocket fired by Yemeni rebels lands in Israel, setting off sirens at the international airport – The Denver Post

By NATALIE MELZER and OHAD ZWIGENBERG

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 had not yet determined whether any of them were successful. It said the missile appeared to have fragmented in mid-air and the incident was still under investigation. The military said the sounds of explosions in the area came from interceptors.

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.

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.

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.

On Sunday, a European Union naval mission operating in the Red Sea said salvage crews had begun to tow a tanker that had been ablaze for weeks following a Houthi attack. The Greek-flagged Sounion was being taken to a “safe location,” Operations Aspides said.

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.

International airlines have repeatedly cancelled flights to and from Israel since the war began, further increasing the economic burden of the conflict 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.

Israel: Three hostages in Gaza were most likely killed in its attack

On Sunday, the Israeli military said there was a “high probability” that three hostages found dead months ago were killed in an Israeli airstrike.

The army announced the results of its investigation into the deaths of Cpl. Nik Beizer, Sgt. Ron Sherman and Elia Toledano. The investigation found that the three were likely killed in an airstrike in November that also killed a senior Hamas militiaman, Ahmed Ghandour.

All three hostages were kidnapped in the Hamas attack on October 7. Their bodies were recovered in December, but the cause of death was only recently determined.

In its report, the army said the probability that they were killed in the attack was “high” based on the locations of the bodies, pathology reports and other intelligence information. However, it also said that “it is not possible to definitively determine the circumstances of their deaths.”

The conclusions could increase pressure on the government to reach a deal to release the remaining hostages held by Hamas, which critics say would be too difficult and dangerous to free. Late last month, Israel recovered the bodies of six hostages allegedly killed by Hamas hostage-takers shortly before Israeli forces arrived.

This statement is the first time the army has linked the deaths of hostages to air strikes. In other cases where bodies were recovered, the army has said the people were either killed on October 7, died in Hamas captivity or were killed by the militant group.

In December, the army admitted mistakenly killing three hostages who escaped from Hamas captivity in a fighting-torn neighborhood of Gaza City. The three were believed to have either fled their captors or been abandoned.

On October 7, around 250 hostages were taken. Israel currently believes that 101 hostages remain in captivity, of whom 35 are presumed dead. More than 100 were released during a ceasefire in November in exchange for the release of Palestinians held captive in Israel. Eight were rescued by Israeli forces.

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 urging 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 immediately 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, 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 to Egypt and all had been sealed off. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss classified information, said it was not clear when the tunnels were sealed off.

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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Natalie Melzer reported from Nahariya, Israel. Samy Magdy in Cairo, Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

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Originally published: September 14, 2024 at 11:23 p.m.