On Friday, the Yemeni rebels warned they would keep up their attacks if Israel did not respect the terms of the ceasefire with Hamas, which is scheduled to begin at 0630 GMT Sunday.

Yemen's Houthi rebels welcomed news of a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in Gaza even as a “last-minute crisis” with Hamas was reported to be holding up Israeli approval of the long-awaited ceasefire agreement.

A missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels has targeted central Israel, sounding sirens and causing people to flee into bomb shelters. The Israeli military said several attempts were made to intercept a missile that was launched from Yemen and “the missile was likely intercepted”.

The Israeli military on Saturday said it intercepted a rocket from Yemen, one day before a ceasefire with the Palestinian militant group Hamas is set to take effect. Residents rushed to shelters as alerts sounded in Tel Aviv and other parts of Israel.

The Iranian-backed Houthis carried out two attacks on Israel on January 18, the eve of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. This is an important symbol of how the Houthis intend to show that they have not been deterred by Israel’s strikes and they are prepared to continue to attack Israel if the ceasefire falls apart.