The Yemeni rebels, known as Houthis, have repeatedly fired drones and missiles toward Israel since the start of the war in Gaza, but nearly all of them have been intercepted over the Red Sea.

Israel retaliated then with airstrikes on Hodeida, a Yemeni port city that is controlled by the Houthis, sparking massive fires at a hub for imports. Netanyahu referenced Hodeida in his remarks Sunday, saying that it served as a reminder of the damage Israel’s military could inflict.

A missile fired by Yemen's Iran-backed rebels landed in an open area in central Israel early Sunday and triggered air raid sirens at its international airport, in the latest reverberation from the nearly yearlong war in Gaza.