Israel is signaling a wider campaign against Houthi militants in Yemen, a mountainous and impoverished country more than 1,000 miles from Israeli territory.

Israel's air defence intercepted a missile fired from Yemen early on Saturday, according to the military. The missile was shot down before it could reach Israeli territory, the military said on Telegram.

An advanced U.S. military anti-missile system was used in Israel to try to intercept a projectile for the first time since President Joe Biden placed the system in Israel in October, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.