Tel Aviv:Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday pledged multiple strikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels after a missile fired by the Iran-backed group landed near Ben Gurion Airport– the country’s main international airport. Claiming responsibility for the attack, Houthis said they acted in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
In a video posted to his personal X account, Netanyahu said Israel’s retaliation for the Houthi attack will not be a ‘one-and-done’ situation, and “there will be blows” in response to the attack.
“We are acting against them,” the Israeli premier said, referring to previous Israeli Defence Force (IDF) operations against the Houthis in Yemen.
“We have acted in the past, and we will act in the future. I cannot detail everything. The United States, in coordination with us, is also acting against them. It’s not a one-and-done, but there will be blows,” said Netanyahu.
Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, has also vowed a forceful response against the Iran-aligned Houthis. “Whoever harms us, we’ll harm them sevenfold,” he said.
A ballistic missile fired by Houthis landed just 75 meters from Terminal 3 of Ben Gurion Airport outside Tel Aviv. It reportedly bypassed four layers of air defence and hit a grove adjacent to an access road within the airport’s perimeter–one of the country’s most sensitive zones– creating a 25-metre deep crater.
Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said their several attempts to intercept the missile failed before it landed near the airport, sending a plume of smoke into the air. However, a direct hit on terminal infrastructure was averted, yet it caused panic among passengers in the terminal building.
Israel has a US-made THAAD system along with an indigenous Arrow system to intercept the missile, but both of them failed to stop the attack today. Authorities have launched a full-scale investigation into the breach of Israel’s air defence and the missile’s impact site.
At least eight people were injured in the attack, Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s national emergency service, said.
Claiming responsibility, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said Israel’s main airport was “no longer safe for air travel”.
Sunday’s strike came as Israeli ministers were reported to be close to signing off on plans to expand the military operation in Gaza, which resumed in March following a two-month truce, prompting the Houthis to hit Israel with more missiles.
Efforts to revive the ceasefire have faltered, and US President Donald Trump in March ordered large-scale strikes against the Houthis to reduce their capabilities and deter them from targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea. The strikes have killed hundreds of people in Yemen.
The Houthis, who control swathes of Yemen, began targeting Israel and Red Sea shipping in late 2023, during the early days of the war between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip.