Monday, May 5, 2025 - A missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels towards Israel on Sunday landed near Ben Gurion Airport, the country’s main international airport.
This sent a plume of smoke into the air and caused panic
among passengers in the terminal building.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis, who
claimed responsibility for the missile strike, have recently intensified
missile launches at Israel, saying they were acting in solidarity with
Palestinians in Gaza.
Responding to the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu vowed to retaliate.
“We attacked in the past, we will attack in the future,” he
said
A senior Israeli police commander, Yair Hetzroni, showed
reporters a crater caused by the impact of the missile, which airport
authorities said landed beside a road near a Terminal 3 parking lot. The
airport lies near the major city of Tel Aviv.
“You can see the scene right behind us here, a hole that
opened up with a diameter of tens of metres and also tens of metres deep,”
Hetzroni said.
Israel’s Channel 12 News said Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu would meet security ministers and defence officials on Sunday to
discuss a response.
Most attacks from Yemen are said to have been intercepted by
Israel’s missile defence systems, apart from a drone strike that hit Tel Aviv
last year.
Sunday’s missile was reported to be the only one of a series
launched in the past few days that was not intercepted.
The Israel Defense Forces said it was investigating.
“Today (Sunday), at approximately 9:18 a.m. (0618 GMT), the IDF identified the
launch of a missile from Yemen toward Israeli territory. According to protocol,
sirens were sounded in a number of areas in Israel.
“Several attempts were made to intercept the missile. A hit
was identified in the area of Ben Gurion Airport,” the military said.
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