The blast sent a plume of smoke into the air and caused passengers in the terminal building to panic.
The Houthi terrorist group on May 4 fired a missile toward Israel that landed near Ben Gurion Airport, the country’s main international airport, sending a plume of smoke into the air and causing panic in the terminal building.
The Houthis, who are aligned with Iran and based in Yemen, claimed responsibility for the strike. Recently, the group has ramped up missile attacks on Israel, citing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, which is controlled by the Iran-aligned Hamas terrorist group.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to retaliate.
“We attacked in the past, we will attack in the future,” he said in a video published by his office.
Yair Hetzroni, a senior Israeli police commander, showed reporters a crater created by the missile’s impact. Airport authorities said it landed beside a road near a Terminal 3 parking lot.
“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.
He added that there was no significant damage.
Netanyahu plans to meet with security ministers and defense officials on Sunday to formulate a response, Israel’s Channel 12 News reported.
Aside from a drone strike that hit Tel Aviv in 2024, Israel’s missile defense systems have intercepted the vast majority of attacks from Yemen. The missile on Sunday was the only strike among several launched over the past few days that Israel failed to intercept.
The Israel Defense Forces said it would investigate.
“Today, at approximately 9:18 a.m., 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,” the Israel Defense Forces said.
“Several attempts were made to intercept the missile. A hit was identified in the area of Ben Gurion Airport.”
A reporter at the airport saw passengers running toward safe rooms as sirens blared.
Smartphone videos showed a plume of black smoke rising behind parked aircraft and airport buildings. Pictures showed a nearby road littered with dust and debris.
Eight people were sent to the hospital for mild to moderate injuries, according to the Israeli ambulance service.
Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree said Israel’s main airport was “no longer safe for air travel.”
After reports said air traffic was halted and access routes to the airport were blocked, the Israel Airports Authority said operations had returned to normal.
By Jacob Burg
