Illustrative image.
A ballistic missile fired by the Houthis (Ansar Allah) from Yemen impacted on the grounds of Ben Gurion Airport near the central Israeli city of Tel Aviv on May 4.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that it made several attempts to intercept the missile but failed to shoot down the projectile in the end. “An impact was identified in the area of Ben Gurion Airport,” it added.
The Israeli Air Force’s aerial defense array is reportedly investigating the failure. The array includes the Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Arrow systems, in addition to a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system deployed and operated by the United States military.
Sirens sounded across central Israel amid the missile attack. Preceding the sirens by some five minutes, an early warning was issued to residents, alerting civilians of the launch from Yemen via a push notification on their phones. Still, casualties were reported.
According to the Magen David Adom ambulance service, six people were wounded as a result of the missile impact, including one in a moderate condition.
Ben Gurion resumed operations after halting takeoffs and landings for around an hour following the attack. Despite this, many airlines suspended flights to the airport.
In a statement, the Houthis said that the attack was carried out “in support of the oppressed Palestinian people and their fighters, as well as in rejection of the crime of genocide being perpetrated by the Zionist enemy against our brothers in the Gaza Strip.”
Since March 18, when the IDF resumed its offensive in Gaza, the Houthis have launched some 27 ballistic missiles and several suicide drones at Israel. Around half of them triggered sirens in the country and were shot down, while the others fell short. This was the first missile to actually impact Israeli territories. The Houthis described the missile as “hypersonic,” without providing any additional details.
Hypersonic missiles travel and maneuver at least five times faster than the speed of sound at low altitudes in the atmosphere which makes them difficult to intercept.
The Houthis launched three “hypersonic” missiles between May 2 and 3, despite intense U.S. strikes on their areas of control in Yemen.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces renew their warning to all international airlines against continuing their flights to Ben Gurion Airport, as it has become unsafe for air traffic,” Houthi military spokesman Brigadier General said in the group’s latest statement.
The spokesman also announced that the group launched a Yafa suicide drone at a “vital target” near the southern Israeli city of Ashkalon a day earlier. The drone was intercepted, according to the IDF.
The U.S. military resumed strikes against Yemen on March 15 on orders from President Donald Trump, who said that the large-scale operation was launched in response to the Houthis’ renewed attacks on Israel-affiliated shipping in the Red Sea. The British military joined the operation earlier this week.
Up until now, the IDF has refrained from launching strikes against the Houthis, reportedly upon a request from the U.S. This will apparently change.
In a brief statement following the latest missile attack, Defense Minister Israel Katz said, “Whoever harms us, we will strike them sevenfold.”
Security officials also told Israel’s Kan public broadcaster that “after the hit at Ben Gurion Airport, from our perspective, there are no restrictions” for a response against the Houthis.
Meanwhile, the opposition National Unity party chairman Benny Gantz called on the government to hold Iran accountable for the attack.
“This is not Yemen, this is Iran. It is Iran that is firing ballistic missiles at the State of Israel, and it must bear responsibility,” wrote the former defense minister on the X social network
“The Israeli government must wake up,” he said, arguing that the missile attack on Israel “must lead to a severe response against Tehran.”
All in all, the confrontation with Yemen will without a doubt enter a new phase of escalation after the missile attack on Israel. The IDF responded to similar attacks last year by attacking civilian infrastructure in Houthi-controlled areas. Both the U.S. and the United Kingdom could join such an Israeli attack.
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beautiful!
die jews, die!
a big beautiful missile landing on satan occupied territory
my fellow americans who joined the armed forces and attack the yemenis are real prices of shit. order following, kike sucking, brain washed, scumbags from hell.
not to mention the english. i used to think they were smart because they had that big empire and all those inventions. i thought wrong. i wonder how many muslim or indian or black uk immigrants joined their armed forces and take part in these disgusting acts.
watch the fast incommig, must been a hypersonic missile. lets hope much more to come. but what are the hezbollah cowards waiting for,? they have thousands of missiles but do nearly nothing against the zio terrorists. there are huge chem industry, oil depots and raffineries in telaviv and haifa, all in range of hezb missiles.
they just are landscaping, no harm. only harm would be if there was a mini nuke as war head
this was a hypersonic missile that left a crater 80 feet deep in the middle of the airport and closed it down. oy vey! i’m off! me and my fellow kikes will all be scurrying down to ben gurion like roaches to bug out before those damn houthis destroy it for good! we’d better get out while we still can! i’ve had enough! i’m going back to jew york! curse the arabs and the goyim! they can have this damn place! oy vey!
shitfront celebrating 1 sand-ape missile finally landing in israel…meanwhile 1000’s are falling on yemen…heheheheehh
those sand apes throwing bananas are growing some really powerful bananas on those yemeni plantations. soon every kike in occupied palestine will be getting hit on their little black hats with flying bananas.
just imagine what would happen if israel were to attack iran. missile barrages would be saturating & depleting all israeli air defense & even the us thaad missiles. the missiles would be raining down daily hitting ports, infrastructure ,industrial/oil/chemical plants & dimona causing widespread release of noxious chemicals & radioactivity. if the us/israel/uk/nato can”t even defeat houthi sandpeople after 2 years how do they expect to take on iran