Missile from Yemen lands in central Israel, IDF says, an area normally safe from enemy projectiles

A missile was launched from Yemen into central Israel on Sunday morning, according to the Israeli military, in a rare instance of a missile penetrating so far into the country’s territory since its war in Gaza began.

The projectile crossed into Israeli territory and fell in an open area in central Israel, with no injuries reported, according to the Israel Defense Forces. Explosion sounds heard in the area originated from Israeli military interceptions, the IDF said, adding that it is still checking “the results of the interception.”

Videos and images shared by the Israel Fire and Rescue Authority on Telegram show large plumes of smoke billowing into the air over an open field, and shattered glass inside a train station in Modi’in, a city between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Israeli police said they were working with the police bomb squad in the Shfela area, also known as the Judaean Foothills, where an interceptor fragment had fallen. Authorities are now isolating the impact site and scanning for additional interceptor remains, police said.

Also on Sunday morning, approximately 40 projectiles crossed from Lebanon into Israel’s northern region, some of them intercepted and others falling in open areas, the IDF said. No injuries were reported, and authorities are putting out fires caused by the fallen projectiles.

The military added that an explosive drone had crossed from Lebanon into the northern town of Metula, though no damage was caused.

Tensions between Israel, Yemen and Lebanon have been escalating for months as Israel has waged its war on Hamas in Gaza after the militant group’s October 7 attacks. World leaders have warned of the potential for a wider Middle East conflict.

Since the war began, the Iran-backed Houthi group, which controls Yemen’s most populous regions, has regularly targeted Israel with drones and missiles. Most of these have been intercepted by Israel’s defenses or those of its allies.

It has also targeted shipping in the Red Sea, as a rejection of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

Most notably in July, the group claimed responsibility for a deadly drone attack in Tel Aviv, Israel’s commercial center – the first time the city has been struck by a Houthi drone.

Israel struck back the next day with deadly airstrikes on a Yemeni port – the first such strike on Yemen, according to Israeli officials.

The Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon has also carried out attacks on northern Israel, sending rockets and drones on Saturday targeting Israeli military sites.

These direct attacks on each other’s soil have raised alarm that there could be a new front in the ongoing conflict, which is already threatening to spill over across the region.

Israel launched its war in Gaza after the militant group Hamas’ cross-border October 7 attacks, in which more than 1,200 Israelis were killed and 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities.

Since then, more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military operations in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the enclave. The health ministry does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its figures, but says most of the dead are women and children.