Yemeni rebel missile hits central Israel in rare attack

A missile launched by Yemen's Hamas-aligned Huthi rebels hit central Israel on Sunday, a rare incident which caused no casualties but added to regional tensions nearly a year into the Gaza war.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Iran-backed Huthis will pay a "heavy price" for the attack, which started a fire and caused some damage near Tel Aviv, Israel's commercial hub.

Palestinian group Hamas, whose October 7 attack triggered the war, praised the missile launch, vowing that Israel "will not enjoy security unless it ceases its brutal aggression against our people in the Gaza Strip".

Israeli medics said several people were slightly injured while "on their way to shelters" as sirens sounded.

Glass was broken at a train station in Modiin, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) southeast of Tel Aviv, and police said a fragment of an air-defence interceptor had come down.

The Huthis, who said their strike targeted an Israeli "military position", are among several Iran-backed groups to have been drawn into the Gaza war.

"They should have known by now that we charge a heavy price for any attempt to harm us," Netanyahu said, according to a statement from his office.

In July, a Huthi drone strike penetrated Israel's intricate air defences and killed a civilian in Tel Aviv, at least 1,800 kilometres from Yemen. It prompted retaliatory strikes that caused significant damage and deaths at the rebel-controlled Hodeida port.

Rebel leader Abdul Malik al-Huthi said Sunday's attack was carried out with a "ballistic missile" that "penetrated" Israel's defences.

Israel said an initial inquiry indicated the missile probably fragmented in mid-air, with a military official later telling AFP it was the result of an interception attempt and the missile "was not destroyed".

Since November the Huthis have targeted Israel and its perceived interests in stated solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, launching dozens of missile and drone strikes that have disrupted global shipping through vital waterways off Yemen.

In a televised speech on the occasion of the birthday of Islam's Prophet Mohammed, the Huthis' leader said the rebels and their regional allies were "preparing to do even more."

"Our operations will continue as long as the aggression and siege on Gaza continue," he said.

- Lebanon war fears -

On Israel's northern flank, Lebanon's Hezbollah movement has traded regular cross-border fire with Israeli forces, in cross-border exchanges including on Sunday that threaten to spiral into all-out war.

Israel dropped leaflets over the Lebanese border village of Wazzani urging residents to leave "until the end of the war" against Hezbollah, but Israel's military told AFP a brigade had taken the initiative without approval.

A cameraman collaborating with AFP saw Syrian families preparing to evacuate their makeshift tents, with young children carrying belongings in plastic bags.

Numerous Israeli evacuation orders in Gaza, which throughout the war have covered most of the besieged Palestinian territory's area, usually preceded military incursions.

Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem said Saturday his group has "no intention of going to war", but if Israel does "unleash" one "there will be large losses on both sides".

On Sunday Netanyahu said "a change in the balance of power on our northern border" was needed.

Hundreds of people, mostly fighters, have already died in Lebanon and dozens, both soldiers and civilians, on the Israeli side.

Violence has also surged since October in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem, where Israeli police on Sunday reported a stabbing attack that lightly wounded an officer at an entrance to the Old City.

A police spokesman later said the attacker had been shot dead. He did not provide details about the attacker's identity.

- Deadly Gaza strikes -

Rescuers, medics and the Palestinian Red Crescent in Hamas-run Gaza reported at least 15 killed in several Israeli strikes on central and northern areas on Sunday.

In central Gaza's Nuseirat, a medical source at Al-Awda hospital said a strike hit a water truck and killed two people.

Israel's military campaign against Hamas has killed at least 41,206 people in Gaza, according to the territory's health ministry, which does not provide breakdowns of civilian and militant deaths.

The October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Militants also seized 251 hostages, 97 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.

Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told AFP in an interview Sunday the group "has a high ability to continue" fighting despite suffering losses.

Hamdan also said the latest Huthi attack showed Israel was "not an immune entity", and that its oft-touted aerial defence systems "have limits".

For months Qatar, Egypt and the United States have been trying to mediate an elusive truce and hostage release deal.

Netanyahu is facing rising anger from critics and protesters who accuse him of not doing enough to get the captives home alive.

Israel's military said an investigation into the November deaths of three hostages in a Gaza tunnel found there was "a high probability" they were killed "as a result of a byproduct" of an Israeli strike targeting a Hamas commander.

The military said it "did not have information about the presence of hostages in the targeted compound" at the time.

burs-ami/