Police inspect the damage caused by a ballistic missile fired from Yemen at the Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, 04 May 2025. EFE/EPA/ABIR SULTAN

Houthis fire missile near Tel Aviv airport in rare long-range strike

Sanaa, May 4 (EFE).— Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for a rare long-range missile strike that hit the area around Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv on Sunday.

The strike, which caused at least six minor injuries and briefly disrupted airport operations, marked the first such incident since Israel began its Gaza offensive over 18 months ago.

“The Houthis carried out a military operation targeting Ben Gurion Airport, in occupied Yafa (Tel Aviv), with a hypersonic ballistic missile,” said the group’s military spokesman, Yahya Sarea, in a statement, adding that the missile “successfully hit its target.”

Sarea renewed warnings to international airlines, declaring that the Israeli airport “is not safe” for air traffic.

According to the spokesman, the operation demonstrated “the failure of US and Israeli interception systems,” and resulted in “more than three million Zionists fleeing to shelters” as well as the “complete disruption of airport operations for over an hour.”

Sarea also claimed responsibility for another drone attack launched Saturday against Ashkelon in south of Tel Aviv.

He vowed continued resistance in the face of “US aggression,” referencing a large-scale operation allegedly ordered by President Donald Trump against the Iran-backed insurgents in March.

He stressed that the Houthis “will not abandon their religious, moral, and humanitarian duty toward the oppressed Palestinian people, regardless of the consequences, until the aggression against Gaza ceases and the siege is lifted.”

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant responded after the incident near the airport, stating, “Whoever harms us will suffer sevenfold in return.”

A projectile, or fragments of one, as the Israeli military has not yet confirmed, fell Sunday near Ben Gurion Airport after air raid sirens were triggered by a missile launched from Yemen.

Footage from the scene showed a plume of smoke rising from the impact site.

Israeli police said they completed an assessment of the situation alongside emergency and rescue agencies.

“Following the assessment and review, authorities ordered an operational sweep and subsequently reopened air traffic, resumed train services, and reopened access routes to the terminal,” police said. EFE

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