Yemeni Houthi missile hits central Israel in rare attack

A missile launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels hit central Israel Sunday, a rare incident that caused no casualties but added to regional tensions nearly a year into the Gaza war.

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

Palestinian group Hamas 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, and police said a fragment of an air-defence interceptor had come down east of Tel Aviv.

Firefighters battled a brush fire near the central Israeli city of Lod after the attack. Glass was broken at a train station in Modi'in, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) southeast of Tel Aviv.

The Houthi rebels targeted an Israeli "military position" in the Jaffa area, around Tel Aviv, using a "ballistic missile that succeeded in reaching its target", Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said in a video statement, adding that "the enemy's defences failed to intercept it".

Israel's military said an initial inquiry indicated the missile probably fragmented in mid-air, reporting "several interception attempts" the results of which "are under review".

Israeli police said they were at the scene near Shfela, east of Tel Aviv, where a fragment of an air-defence interceptor had come down.

Yemen's Houthis have been launching attacks against Israel and its perceived interests in what they say is solidarity with the Palestinians during Israel's nearly year-long war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 41,000 people, mostly civilians.

The Houthis are part of the "axis of resistance", which also includes Iran-backed militant groups in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

Since November, the Houthis have carried out dozens of missile and drone strikes on shipping in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, waterways vital to global trade.

In July, the Houthis claimed a drone strike that penetrated Israel's air defences and killed a civilian in Tel Aviv, at least 1,800 kilometres from Yemen.

Following that attack, Israeli warplanes bombed the Yemeni Hodeida port, destroying much of the facility's fuel storage capacity and killing several people.

It was Israel's first claimed strike in Yemen.

A rebel official at the time vowed escalation, and a Houthi statement last month affirmed "once again that the Yemeni response is definitely coming".