Yemeni Missile Hits Near Ben Gurion Airport: Israel Reports Injuries and Defense System Failure
Houthi Forces Claim Ballistic Strike on Tel Aviv Airport; Israel Closes Airspace and Pledges Harsh Retaliation.
Watan-Israeli emergency services reported eight injuries on Sunday morning after a missile fragment landed near Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. Air raid sirens echoed across a broad area—from southern Hadera through Tel Aviv and eastward to Jerusalem—after the missile was launched from Yemen, with the Houthis claiming responsibility.
Following the alert, a powerful explosion rocked central Israel. Eyewitnesses told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that plumes of smoke rose near the airport, accompanied by strong tremors unlike previous interception events. Hebrew-language media, both official and unofficial, circulated footage confirming the impact near Ben Gurion, which was later verified by Israeli police.
Yair Hatzroni, the Central District Commander, appeared in a video from the missile site with the airport control tower visible behind him. He described a large crater “tens of meters wide and deep.” According to Ynet News, Ben Gurion Airport was shut down for both arrivals and departures following the incident.
Israeli media, citing security sources, reported that initial assessments indicate a failure of both the Israeli Arrow 3 and the U.S. THAAD missile defense systems to intercept the missile before it reached the airport. The Israeli army radio stated investigations are underway to determine whether this was a direct failure or the result of an “unusual, massive interception attempt” that led to dangerous shrapnel fallout.
Israeli Security Minister Yisrael Katz vowed a severe response, declaring, “Anyone who hits us will be hit sevenfold.”
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Houthi movement officially announced it had targeted Ben Gurion Airport with a hypersonic ballistic missile. According to the group’s military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, the missile successfully hit its target, and both U.S. and Israeli defenses failed to intercept it. The statement added that the strike caused over three million Israelis to seek shelter and that airport operations were halted for more than an hour.
