Israel military says intercepted missile from Yemen

Israel's military said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen on Thursday for the second time within a day after air raid sirens sounded in several areas including Jerusalem.

"Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel, a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted by the IAF (air force) before crossing into Israeli territory," the military said in a statement.

AFP journalists in Jerusalem had reported air raid sirens wailing in the city.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the launch, but it comes after Yemen's Houthi rebels had threatened to escalate attacks in support of Palestinians following Israel's renewed attacks on the Gaza Strip this week.

Earlier on Thursday, Israel's military said it intercepted a projectile fired from Gaza while two others fell in an uninhabited area after sirens sounded in central Israel.

Hamas said it had fired rockets at Israel's commercial hub of Tel Aviv in response to what it called "massacres against civilians" in Gaza.

In the early hours of Thursday, the military said it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen, which the Houthi rebels claimed was a "hypersonic ballistic missile" that had targeted Israel's main international airport.

The Houthis in a statement also said they had again targeted a US aircraft carrier group in the Red Sea, the latest attack after a series of intense American strikes against the Yemeni rebels.

The Houthis had targeted ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden after the start of the Gaza war on October 7, 2023, claiming solidarity with Palestinians.

They had paused their attacks for the duration of an Israel-Hamas ceasefire that began mid-January but resumed launching missiles and drones after the United States carried out deadly strikes on Yemen Saturday.

Israel resumed its air campaign in Gaza early Tuesday with a wave of deadly strikes, shattering a relative calm that had pervaded the war-ravaged Palestinian territory since the ceasefire took hold.

The territory's civil defense agency said Thursday that 504 people had been killed so far in the renewed Israeli assault, including more than 190 children.