Ballistic missile from Yemen intercepted before entering Israel: Army

Jerusalem, Dec 1: Israel's military said on Sunday that it intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Yemen before it entered the Israeli airspace.

The missile triggered sirens in several cities and communities across central Israel, the military said in a statement, as reported by Xinhua news agency.

Fragments from the missile or the interceptor fell in the playground of a kindergarten in Tzur Hadassah, a community near Jerusalem, causing some damage, the local council said.

Fragments fell also in Halhul near the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian media reports.

No injuries were reported. Earlier, Houthi media outlets reported that the group launched a ballistic rocket towards Israel early Sunday morning. Residents near the Yemeni Red Sea port city of Hodeidah wrote on social media that they spotted a big rocket speeding towards the north.

Since November 2023, the Houthi group has launched rocket and drone attacks on Israel and disrupted "Israeli-linked" shipping in the Red Sea, allegedly to show solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza amid the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.