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.

A Houthi political official says the group will continue attacking Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians despite the escalating Israeli air strikes in Yemen.Mohammed al-Bukhaiti told the BBC that the Houthis would "escalate our military targeting of Israel" until it stopped what he described as "the genocide in Gaza".