Attack claimed by Houthis temporarily halts air traffic at Israel’s busiest airport and triggers air raid sirens.
A ballistic missile launched from Yemen has hit the perimeter of Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport, damaging a road and a vehicle and causing air traffic to stop, according to photos and footage verified by Al Jazeera.
The Israeli military confirmed its defence system failed to shoot down the projectile on Sunday morning despite several attempts to intercept it, adding that an investigation was under way. Eight people were injured, according to paramedics.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who have been carrying out attacks against Israel in stated opposition to its war and blockade on the Gaza Strip, claimed responsibility for the missile launched at Israel’s busiest airport. More than 18 months of Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed at least 52,495 people, including 57 who starved to death due to the total Israeli siege since March 2, according to Palestinian officials.
In a televised statement, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree warned airlines that Ben Gurion airport was “no longer safe for air travel”.
The attack led to a brief suspension of flights at the airport in central Israel with some having to be redirected. All entrances to the airport were also briefly closed while train journeys towards the site were halted.
Sirens blared across central Israel, prompting many to move into shelters, according to Israeli media.
Videos of the site of the impact circulating online showed the missile hit a connecting road inside the perimeter of the airport with some debris scattered on adjacent roads.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened severe retaliation. “Whoever attacks us, we will hit back sevenfold,” Katz said in an apparent reference in the Torah relating to severe punishment, or divine justice.
Benny Gantz, leader of the Israel Resilience party and a former war cabinet member, said the blame for the missile attack by the Iran-aligned group should be put on Tehran.
“It is Iran that is firing ballistic missiles at the state of Israel, and it must bear responsibility,” he said in a social media post without providing evidence. “The shooting at the state of Israel is bound to lead to a severe reaction in Tehran.”
Yair Golan, a leading opposition figure, said millions of Israelis are in shelters again, Israeli captives held in Gaza are dying, the cost of living is crushing families and reservists are “collapsing under the burden” of the war, which was launched after an attack headed by the Palestinian armed group Hamas in Israel on October 7, 2023, led to the killing of an estimated 1,139 people, with more than 200 taken captive.
“This is big for Netanyahu, this is big for the government,” Golan said about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “We must return the kidnapped people home and end the war.”
Houthi attacks are continuing despite near daily bombardment of areas across Yemen by the United States military. Houthi-run media reported many more US air raids on Yemen early on Sunday.
US warplanes launched 10 raids on the al-Hazm district of the al-Jawf governorate and three attacks on the Marib governorate, Al Masirah TV reported.
It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties as with some of the other US strikes this week, including one on a migrant detention centre that killed dozens of people.
