Yemen’s Houthi Rebels Launch Ballistic Missile at Israeli Airport
In a retaliatory move, the Houthi rebels of Yemen launched a ballistic missile at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport, located 15 kilometers southeast of Tel Aviv. The attack was in response to the Israeli Army’s bombings of Yemeni infrastructure, including Sana’a airport, earlier on Thursday.
Houthi Military Spokesman Announces Successful Operation
Yahya Sarea, the Houthi military spokesman, announced that the missile force of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a targeted military operation against Ben Gurion Airport using a hypersonic ballistic missile of the ‘Palestine2’ type. According to the Houthi statement, the missile successfully reached its target, resulting in casualties and disrupting navigation at the airport.
However, Israeli forces claimed to have intercepted the missile before it entered Israeli territory. Local Israeli media reported that the missile launch temporarily affected operations at Ben Gurion Airport, with four flights from Europe forced to wait before approaching.
Escalating Tensions Between Israel and Yemen’s Houthis
The Houthi operation comes hours after Israel attacked various infrastructure controlled by the rebels, including the Sanaa airport, the Al Hodeida port, and several power plants. The attacks resulted in at least six deaths and 40 injuries.
Yemen’s Houthis had warned that their response to the Israeli aggression would not be long in coming, stating that “Israeli aggression will not go unpunished.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to persist in neutralizing Yemen’s Houthis, referring to them as “Iran’s terrorist arm.”
Additional Military Operations by Houthi Rebels
In a separate incident, the Houthi spokesman Yahya Sarea announced that the rebels carried out a military operation using drones against the ship Santa Úrsula in the Arabian Sea, east of the island of Socotra. The crew had ignored the rebels’ prohibition on sailing towards Israeli ports.
