Israel suspends flights at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport after Yemen missile attack
Army says missile intercepted, triggering air-raid sirens in central Israel
Israel temporarily suspended flights at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday after a missile attack from Yemen, Israeli media said.
A military statement said that a missile from Yemen was intercepted, triggering air-raid sirens in several areas in central Israel.
Israel Channel 12 said the missile targeted the Ben Gurion airport, prompting authorities to temporarily suspend flight operations.
The broadcaster said thousands of Israelis fled to shelters after the missile attack.
Later, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth said that flight landings at Ben Gurion Airport have resumed following a ballistic missile launch from Yemen.
Yahya Saree, the military spokesperson for Yemen's Houthi group, said the movement launched four military operations against Israeli targets, including a strike on Ben Gurion Airport using a hypersonic ballistic missile and drones.
In a video statement posted to his account on X, Saree said the group's forces carried out a “qualitative military operation” targeting Lod Airport (Ben Gurion) near Tel Aviv with a hypersonic ballistic missile.
He added that the strike was successful, triggering the evacuation of “millions of Israelis” to shelters and disrupting airport operations.
Saree also said the group launched three additional drone attacks on “vital enemy targets” in Tel Aviv in central Israel, Ashdod, and Eilat in the south.
“We are working to enforce a full ban on air traffic at the airport, having already succeeded in imposing a partial disruption,” he said.
He urged remaining airlines that have not yet complied with what he called a flight ban to take the group's decision seriously.
The Houthis have intensified missile and drone strikes on Israel since Tel Aviv resumed military attacks on Gaza in March.
Since November 2023, the Houthis have also targeted commercial shipping in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Arabian Sea in support of Palestinians in Gaza, where more than 54,400 people have been killed in the Israeli offensive.
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