Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to strike back against the Houthis following a missile attack by the group on the grounds of Israel’s primary airport.
Benjamin Netanyahu Reacts
In a social media posted video, Netanyahu threatened to hit the group, declaring: “We attacked in the past, we will attack in the future”.
The missile, launched from Yemen by the Iran-backed faction, struck close to the main terminal of Ben Gurion airport on Sunday morning, according to Israeli authorities.
Four individuals were hurt by the explosion, and two others were hurt while heading to a shelter, Israeli media quoted emergency services as saying.
Reactions from Israel and Houthis
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree stated in a TV address that the Israeli airport was “no longer safe for air travel”.
Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz stated: “Anyone who hits us, we will hit them seven times stronger”.
Unverified video shared online seemed to capture motorists on a nearby road stopped to take shelter as a projectile crashes down, sending up a cloud of black smoke near the airport, which is in the suburbs of Tel Aviv.
Airport Operations Disrupted
The airport has now reopened to flights, after suspending them temporarily although a number of major airlines, including Lufthansa, Air France and Delta, cancelled Sunday’s flights to and from the airport.
Sirens were sounded in a number of areas of the country as the missile was on its way – and the Israeli Air Force reported that it was investigating the malfunctioning of its ability to intercept it.
Israeli police senior commander Yair Hetzroni took journalists to the site and pointed out a crater resulting from the missile’s impact, which airport officials claimed had fallen next to a road near the parking lot of Terminal three.
“You can see the picture behind us here, a hole that was created with a diameter of tens of metres and also tens of metres deep,” Hetzroni stated, informing that there was no major damage.
Broader Conflict and International Involvement
Netanyahu will receive ministers and defence officials on Sunday to hear a response, domestic media reported.
The Houthis, a Yemen-based Iranian-backed rebel faction, have long conducted missile attacks on Israel in support of Hamas in Gaza, but it does not often reach Israel’s advanced air defenses.
The organization have also been conducting attacks against vessels in the Red Sea, which the US has reacted to by leading an air campaign against it to which the UK has contributed.
