There were no reports of casualties or major damage, but Israeli media aired footage showing people racing to shelters in Ben Gurion International Airport. The airport authority said it resumed normal operations shortly thereafter. A fire could be seen in a rural area of central Israel, and local media showed images of what appeared to be a fragment from an interceptor that landed on an escalator in a train station in the town of Modiin.
The Israeli military said it made several attempts to intercept the missile using its multi-tiered air defences but had not yet determined if any had been successful. It said the missile appeared to have fragmented mid-air, and that the incident is under review.
The Yemeni rebels, known as Houthis, have repeatedly fired drones and missiles toward Israel since the start of the war in Gaza between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, but nearly 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 10 others. Israel responded with a wave of airstrikes on Houthi-held areas of Yemen, including the port city of Hodeidah.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted at a similar response in remarks at a Cabinet meeting after the attack. “The Houthis should have known by now that we exact a heavy price for any attempt to harm us,” he said. “Anyone who needs a reminder is invited to visit the port of Hodeidah.”Brigadier General Yahya Saree, a military spokesman for the rebels, said they fired a ballistic missile targeting “a military target” in the area of Tel Aviv. Israel said around 40 projectiles were fired from Lebanon early Sunday, with most intercepted or falling in open areas.Leaflets over Lebanon
In a separate 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 such evacuation orders, and that a local commander had acted without the approval of his superiors. It said the incident was being probed.
It was not clear if anyone had evacuated the town, or if any message had been conveyed to residents that the leaflets were dropped in error. The strikes along the Israel-Lebanon border have displaced tens of thousands of people on both sides. Israel has repeatedly threatened to launch a wider military operation against Hezbollah.
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