Yemen's Houthi rebels fire missile toward Israel

TEL AVIV — The Israeli military said sirens sounded across central Israel on Monday as it intercepted a missile in an attack later claimed by Yemen's Houthi rebels.

It was the last of several attacks launched by the Iran-backed Houthis against Israel from Yemen since the war in Gaza began more than a year ago.

"One missile launched from Yemen was intercepted before crossing into Israeli territory," the military said in a statement.

An AFP journalist reported that sirens sounded in Tel Aviv, the main commercial hub.

The Houthis later said they had "carried out a military operation targeting a military target of the Israeli enemy in the occupied area of Yaffa", a reference to the Tel Aviv area.

The group, which controls most of Yemen's population centres including its capital Sanaa, added the "operation had successfully achieved its objectives".

Israel's Magen David Adom emergency service said it had not received any calls about any casualties from the missile interception.

Earlier on Monday in a separate incident, an Israeli navy missile boat intercepted a drone in the Mediterranean after it was launched from Yemen, the military said.

The Houthi rebels say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians.

In their Monday statement, the Yemeni rebels said their "operations will not stop until the aggression on Gaza stops and the seige is lifted".

On December 9, a drone claimed by Houthis exploded on the top floor of a residential building in the central Israel city of Yavne, causing no casualties.

In July, a Houthi drone attack in Tel Aviv killed an Israeli civilian, prompting retaliatory strikes on the Yemeni port of Hodeidah.

The Houthis have also regularly targeted shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, leading to retaliatory strikes on Houthi targets by United States and sometimes British forces.