Israel says it faces first incoming missile from Yemen as Middle East war intensifies

Israel reported a first-ever missile attack from Yemen early Saturday, as air-raid sirens sounded for the third straight night across parts of the country—amid an escalating war that has already reshaped regional shipping and battered global markets.

Shortly after dawn, Israel’s military said a missile was launched from Yemen toward Israeli territory. The Houthis—an Iran-backed rebel movement that has governed Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, since 2014—have not yet acknowledged responsibility.

Siren alerts were reported around Beer Sheba and near Israel’s main nuclear research center, following continued overnight exchanges between Iran-backed forces and Israel. The new report marked the first time Israel said it had faced fire from Yemen.

The Houthis had previously stayed largely outside the conflict. Despite their long-running opposition to Saudi Arabia and their 2015 war with the kingdom—fought on behalf of Yemen’s exiled government—rebels have maintained an uneasy ceasefire with Saudi Arabia for years. That posture began to fracture as the war in Gaza continued to draw in new regional actors, including the Houthis.

During the Israel-Hamas war, attacks on vessels disrupted traffic through the Red Sea. The corridor carries about $1 trillion worth of goods each year before the conflict. The rebels have also fired drones at Israel. Over the same period, the Houthis attacked more than 100 merchant ships with missiles and drones, sinking two and killing four sailors from November 2023 until January 2025.

The possibility that the Houthis could expand their campaign raised concerns about another layer of instability in global transport—especially at a time when energy markets are already strained by Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil and natural gas once passed.

Even as the prospect of wider disruption loomed, Iran had signaled a limited opening earlier. Tehran agreed to allow humanitarian aid and agricultural shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, according to a statement by the U.N. envoy for Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Ali Bahreini. Bahreini said Iran would “facilitate and expedite” the movement of such goods.

The Strait of Hormuz typically handles a fifth of world oil shipments and nearly a third of the world’s fertilizer trade. While the world has focused heavily on the risk of blocked oil and gas, concerns are also growing around restrictions affecting fertilizer ingredients—threats that can ripple into farming capacity and global food security.

“This measure reflects Iran’s continued commitment to supporting humanitarian efforts and ensuring that essential aid reaches those in need without delay,” Bahreini said on the social platform X. The United Nations later announced a task force to address the knock-on effects the war has created for aid delivery.

Hours before Israel’s missile reports from Yemen emerged, Iran and Israel traded claims and threats after Israeli strikes hit Iranian nuclear facilities. Israel had threatened to “escalate and expand” its campaign against Tehran on Friday, and Iran vowed retaliation.

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said the Shahid Khondab Heavy Water Complex in Arak and the Ardakan yellowcake production plant in Yazd Province were targeted, according to IRNA. It said the attacks did not cause casualties and there was no risk of contamination. The Arak plant has not operated since Israel attacked it last June.

Yellowcake is a concentrated form of uranium after impurities are removed from raw ore, while heavy water serves as a moderator in nuclear reactors.

The Israeli military later said raw materials processed for enrichment are handled at the Yazd plant, describing the strike as a major setback for Iran’s nuclear program.

In parallel, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps aerospace commander Seyed Majid Moosavi urged employees of companies linked to the United States or Israel to leave their workplaces, saying: “This time, the equation will no longer be ‘an eye for an eye,’ just wait.”

Iran’s retaliation also landed beyond its own borders. Two U.S. officials familiar with the situation said the Iranian attack on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia wounded at least 10 American troops, including at least two seriously injured. Several refueling aircraft were damaged. Both officials spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Late Friday, Israeli authorities said Iran launched missiles at Israel, killing a 52-year-old man in Tel Aviv. Sirens were sounded for people to take shelter in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Beer Sheba and around the country’s main nuclear research center, which had been targeted by Iranian strikes that injured dozens last weekend.

Trump renews call for Israeli-Saudi ties

As exchanges intensified, President Donald Trump used a Miami appearance sponsored by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund to press for normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Trump said he wants the two countries brought into the Abraham Accords, framing the timing as dependent on hostilities with Iran ending.

“It’s now time,” Trump said. “We’ve now taken them out, and they are out bigly. We got to get into the Abraham Accords.”

Saudi Arabia has said it requires a credible path to a Palestinian state before it normalizes commercial and diplomatic ties with Israel.

US pushes diplomatic solution

News of the attacks reached the public after Trump claimed talks on ending the war were going “very well” and that he had given Tehran additional time to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has said it has not engaged in negotiations.

As financial markets absorbed economic fallout that has extended beyond the Middle East, pressure has mounted on Washington to break Iran’s ability to choke passage through the strait. A Gulf Arab bloc said Thursday that Iran has been levying tolls on ships to ensure safe passage.

Trump envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington delivered a 15-point “action list” to Iran for a potential ceasefire, using Pakistan as an intermediary. He said it calls for curbs on Iran’s nuclear program and reopening the strait.

Iran rejected the offer and submitted its own five-point proposal, which included reparations and recognition of its sovereignty over the waterway.

Trump has said that if Iran does not reopen the strait to all traffic by April 6, he will order the destruction of Iran’s energy plants.

Uncertainty around the conflict contributed to another selloff in U.S. trading Friday. The S&P 500 fell 1.7% to end its worst week since the Iran war began, and marked its fifth consecutive losing week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.7%, and the Nasdaq composite slid 2.1%, while crude oil prices continued to rise.

With U.S. gas prices approaching $4 a gallon, members of Congress have urged a suspension of the federal gasoline tax—set at 18.4 cents per gallon for gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel. Trump said he had “thought about” pausing it, but suggested states could consider tax relief instead.

Attacks appear to intensify early Saturday

In eastern Tehran, witnesses reported a partial power outage following airstrikes. In Israel, loud explosions were reported in Tel Aviv, and emergency crews responded to nearly a dozen reported impact sites.

An Associated Press journalist heard explosions in Tel Aviv. Israel’s Fire and Rescue Service said it was responding to 11 impact sites across the metro area.

Defense Minister Israel Katz earlier said Iran “will pay heavy, increasing prices for this war crime.”

Israel said its attacks on Friday targeted sites “in the heart of Tehran” where ballistic missiles and other weapons are produced, and that it also struck missile launchers and storage sites in western Iran.

Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said it shot down missiles and drones aimed at Riyadh. In Lebanon, the Health Ministry reported two deaths.

Kuwait said its Shuwaikh Port in Kuwait City and the Mubarak Al Kabeer Port north of the capital—under construction as part of China’s “Belt and Road” initiative—sustained “material damage” in attacks. It appeared to be among the first times a Chinese-affiliated project in Gulf Arab states has been hit in the war. China has continued purchasing Iranian crude.

Diplomatic wrangling endures even as US sends more troops

Diplomats from several countries, including Pakistan and Turkey, have worked to arrange a direct meeting between U.S. and Iranian envoys. Separately, G7 foreign ministers meeting Friday in France called for an immediate halt to attacks against populations and infrastructure.

Even as talks continued, the United States moved forces closer to the region. U.S. ships carrying about 2,500 Marines drew nearer, and at least 1,000 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne—trained to operate in hostile territory to secure key positions and airfields—were ordered to the Middle East.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. “can achieve all of our objectives without ground troops,” adding that the deployment is intended to provide “maximum opportunity to adjust to contingencies should they emerge.”

Israel said it sent the 162nd Division into southern Lebanon to support efforts to protect northern border towns from Hezbollah attacks and help uproot the militant group.

The United Nations’ International Organization for Migration said Friday that 82,000 civilian buildings in Iran are damaged, including hospitals and homes of 180,000 people.

Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, warned that continued conflict could trigger a far larger humanitarian crisis. “If this war continues, we risk a far wider humanitarian disaster,” he said in a statement. “Millions could be forced to flee across borders, placing immense pressure on an already overstretched region.”

Death toll climbs, primarily in Iran and Lebanon

In Israel, 19 people have died, while four Israeli soldiers have been killed in Lebanon. Authorities said more than 1,100 people have died in Lebanon and over 1,900 in Iran.

At least 13 American troops have been killed, and additional deaths were reported in other regions, including four people in the occupied West Bank and 20 in Gulf Arab states.

In Iraq—where Iranian-backed militia groups have entered the conflict—80 members of the security forces have died.

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Amiri reported from New York, and Toropin from Washington. Associated Press writers Giovanna Dell’Orto in Miami; Fay Abuelgasim in Cairo; Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel; Fatma Khaled in Cairo; Sam McNeil in Brussels; Matthew Lee in Paris; Matthew Daly Washington; and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed.