Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels early Friday morning fired a ballistic missile at Israel, which was intercepted before reaching Israeli territory, the military said.

The missile triggered sirens at around 5:30 a.m. in Haifa and across northern Israel. It was only the second time that a missile from Yemen set off sirens in the north.

Debris from the missile interception penetrated the roof of a kindergarten at Kibbutz Mishmar Ha’emek.

There were no reports of injuries in the attack.

Preceding the sirens by some six minutes, an early alert warning was issued to a wide area in northern Israel, alerting civilians of the long-range missile attacks via a push notification on their phones.

The new alert system, which was recently activated, has faced teething trouble of either not sending alerts or sending out warnings over a wider area than the sirens cover. Friday’s early alert was more accurate than previous attempts to use the system.

Since March 18, when the IDF resumed its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis in Yemen have launched some 24 ballistic missiles and several drones at Israel. Only around half of them triggered sirens in the country and were shot down, while the others fell short.

The sirens often send hundreds of thousands of Israelis rushing to shelters at all hours of the night, causing a number of injuries in the scramble. The sirens are a precaution against falling debris from intercepts that have occasionally caused injuries, death, and damage.

The Houthis — whose slogan is “Death to America, Death to Israel, a Curse on the Jews” — first began attacking Israel and maritime traffic in November 2023, a month after the October 7 Hamas attack.

In recent weeks, the United States has been carrying out massive airstrikes in Yemen against the Houthis, targeting their leadership and infrastructure.