Israel says it intercepted Yemeni missile

(Reuters) - The Israeli army said it intercepted a missile that was fired from Yemen after sirens and explosions were heard early on Friday.

"Following the sirens that sounded in central Israel, the surface-to-surface missile that was launched from Yemen was intercepted by an 'Arrow' interceptor outside of Israeli territory," the army said in a statement.

"There is currently no change to the IDF Defensive guidelines," it said, using the acronym for the Israel Defense Forces.

Yemen's Houthi militants have fired missiles and drones at Israel repeatedly in what they say is solidarity with the Palestinians, since the Gaza war began with a Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7.

In July, the Houthis fired a drone at Tel Aviv for the first time, killing a man and wounding four people. Israeli airstrikes in response on Houthi military targets near the port of Hodeidah killed six and wounded 80.

Earlier this month, they reached central Israel with a missile that Israel said was hit by an interceptor and fragmented in the air.

(Reporting by Hatem Maher and Steven Scheer; Editing by Chris Reese and Jonathan Oatis)