CNN —
A projectile fired from Yemen hit Tel Aviv overnight into Saturday, Israeli authorities said, in a rare instance of a failed interception over the city.
The projectile landed in Tel Aviv’s southern Jaffa area, Israel’s military said, adding that attempts to intercept a missile from Yemen failed shortly after sirens sounded in central Israel.
It said a fallen projectile was identified in the area.
At least 16 people sustained minor injuries from glass fragments that broke in nearby buildings, Israel’s Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency service said.
In addition, 14 victims were treated for slight injuries they sustained seeking shelter, as well as seven panic victims.
Israel’s second-largest city, Tel Aviv is the country’s commercial and diplomatic center. Direct hits from projectiles fired at the coastal city are rare, due to its extensive air defenses.
Since Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza started in October last year, the country has come under fire from missiles and rockets from Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, both Iran-backed militant groups, as well as from Iran itself. Almost all of the projectiles have been intercepted by Israel’s air defenses.
Israel’s besiegement and bombardment of Gaza has led to tens of thousands of deaths and a humanitarian catastrophe, while its attacks on Lebanon have killed about 4,000.
The Houthis have for months targeted ships in the Red Sea, one of the world’s busiest waterways, calling the attacks a response to the war in Gaza.
The Houthis, Hamas and Hezbollah are all part of an Iran-led alliance spanning much of the region, that has attacked Israel and its allies since the war began last year. They say they won’t stop striking Israel and its allies until a ceasefire is reached in the Palestinian enclave.
Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel – in which militants killed more than 1,000 people and took hundreds hostage – sparked the more than 14 months of conflict.
On Thursday, the Israeli military said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen, with shrapnel causing extensive damage to a school near Tel Aviv.
In November, shrapnel from an intercepted Hezbollah rocket hit a building in the city.
And in July, the Houthis claimed responsibility for a deadly drone attack in Tel Aviv – the first such strike on the city by the group.