Yemen’s Houthi rebel group, Ansarallah, launched two ballistic missile attacks on Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport on Sunday. Prior to this, the Houthis claimed they had already targeted the airport with a drone strike.
According to Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree, the group used a hypersonic “Palestine-2” missile and a “Zulfiqar” ballistic missile in the attack. Calling it a “significant military operation,” he stated that the strikes disrupted air traffic and forced “hundreds of thousands of Israeli civilians to take shelter in bomb shelters.”
Israeli authorities have not yet confirmed any casualties or damage resulting from the attacks.
Earlier on Sunday, the Houthis reported sending a drone named “Yafa” toward the same airport.
The Houthis claim the attacks were carried out in retaliation for what they describe as Israel’s “genocidal campaign” in Gaza. They also called on the Muslim world to take stronger action and criticized the international community’s silence, labeling it a form of “indirect complicity in a humanitarian disaster.”
Just days before the attacks, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened to target top Houthi leaders, including Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, in response to their continued missile and drone assaults. He said the group’s leaders would be dealt with in the same manner as those of Hamas and Hezbollah.
The Houthis have been launching repeated missile and drone strikes on Israeli and Red Sea targets in solidarity with Gaza. According to their claims, more than 173,000 Palestinians have been killed or injured in Gaza so far, with women and children making up the majority of the casualties.
