A failed interception of a missile from Yemen forced Israel to briefly close its main international airport on Sunday, exposing the country's vulnerabilities and the continuous capacity of the Houthi rebels to strike distant targets despite a sustained American military campaign.
Thefts were interrupted at Ben -Gurion Airport Near such Aviv for about 30 minutes on Sunday morning after a missile landed in the vicinity of the airport, after the Israeli army said was “several attempts” in interception. “The results of the interception are under examination,” said the Israeli defense forces (FDI).
The soldiers drew his long range Arrow interceptor In the incoming missile, a TSAhal spokesperson said. The United States also has an advance Anti-missile system deployed in Israel.
Supported by Iran Houthi rebellious group In Yemen, claimed the responsibility of the attack, claiming that it had been carried out “in rejection of the crime of genocide (of Israel)” against the people of Gaza.
Later, the group warned that it could strike again and “imposed a full air blockade” on Israel by “targeting airports on several occasions”, in particular Ben -Gurion. He called on international airlines to plan accordingly and cancel all the flights planned to Israeli airports.
The strike seems to be the first time that Israeli international airport has been successfully targeted by the group.
“American and Israeli defense systems have failed to intercept the missile intended for Ben Gurion airport,” said Yahya Saree, group spokesperson, in a statement, adding that the airport was targeted with a “hypersonic ballistic missile”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised new attacks on the Houthis.
“We have already acted, we will also act in the future. I cannot develop all of this. The United States, in coordination with us, also work against them. It is not` `and does ''-but there will be successes,” he said in a video address published on social networks.
In a post to X later, he also promised an answer to Iran: “Israel will respond to the attack on the Houthis against our main airport and, at one point and our choice, to their Iranian terrorist masters.”
Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that the answer would be “seven times”.
Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said Iran would respond to any attack on this. Mehr News, affiliated with the state, quoted it as saying: “If we are attacked or if a war is imposed on us, we will answer with power.”
“We will attack their interests and bases, and we will not be reluctant and will not see any limits in this regard,” Nasirzadeh told Iranian TV, according to Mehr. “We are not enemies of our neighboring countries, and they are our brothers, but the American bases on their soil will be our targets.”
The Israeli security firm met on Sunday afternoon to discuss the incident, according to an Israeli official.
Travelers wait outside Ben Gurion airport while thefts are interrupted. – Images Jack Guez / AFP / Getty
The incident marks a major security violation on one of the most protected sites in the country, and is likely to raise questions about Israel's ability to intercept such attacks despite its praised anti -missile defense system.
An initial Survey of FDI found no malfunction with systems or procedures, but a “technical problem” with the interceptor himself, which was launched towards the Houthis missile, said the army.
Trains to and from the airport were also interrupted and the police asked the public to refrain from arriving in the region.
Photos of the scene showed debris of the impact of the missile on the airport field, strewn the road to the main terminal. A shared video on social networks seemed to show the impact of the missile at the airport and a cloud of black smoke rising from the strike.
Lufthansa, Switzerland, Austrian airlines, Brussels and Eurowings airlines suspend flights to and from Tel Aviv until Tuesday, May 6, a spokesman for the Lufthansa group told CNN.
'You have to take this threat seriously'
Amir Bar Shalom, analyst of military affairs for the radio of the Israeli army, said that the missile showed both enormous precision and the ability to penetrate the air defenses of Israel.
“They were very precise and to be very precise if you launch from 2,000 kilometers, it's impressive,” Bar Shalom in CNN. “And you have to take this threat seriously. We must check if it is our error or if we have a new type of threat here. ”
Iran Develops long -range missiles Capable of maneuvering to escape the aerial defenses, Bar Shalom said, although it is not clear if such advanced technology has been transferred to Houthis. He added that the soldiers will analyze all aspects of the attempts to fail the interception, including when the sensors have detected the incoming projectile, which systems have identified it and the way in which the nearby interceptors came to the missile.
“There are so many parameters that can be relevant to the result that must be analyzed,” he said.
The Palestinian militant group of Hamas praised the attack, calling Yemen “the twin of Palestine, while it continues to challenge the most brutal forces of oppression, to refuse submission or defeat despite the attack on which it is confronted.”
The Sunday strike marks the third consecutive day of the missile launches from Yemen to Israel, according to the FDI.
THE Houthis claim their hypersonic missiles Have a stealth technology, a range of 2,150 kilometers (1,335 miles), high maneuverability and can reach Mach 16 speeds.
Israeli emergency services erase the debris of a road outside Ben Gurion airport. – Images Jack Guez / AFP / Getty
Since the War of Israel with Hamas in Gaza began in October 2023, the country was criticized by Hezbollah missiles and rockets in Lebanon and Houthis in Yemen, who claim to strike Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians. Almost all projectiles were intercepted by the air defenses of Israel.
But in December, a Houthi missile hit The commercial capital of Israel Tel Aviv After a failed interception, causing more than a dozen injuries. The Houthis said they had drawn a hypersonic ballistic missile entitled “Palestine 2” on an Israeli military target in the Jaffa region. And in July, the Houthis claimed responsibility for a deadly drone attack in Tel Aviv – the first strike of this type on the city by the group.
Israel launched several strikes against Houthis in Yemen, including targeting a power station and sea ports in January.
But the American army has Make much more extensive strikes On targets in Yemen in recent weeks, aimed at weakening the group, whose attacks on the Red Sea bride have considerably disrupted world trade.
The campaign also aims to stop the launches targeting Israel, as well as the commercial and the American navy operating in the Middle East. At the beginning of last month, the cost of us the effort had approached $ 1 billion In just three weeks, including the deployment of B-2 stealth bombers and the use of hundreds of millions of high-end ammunition.
But he failed to disrupt the capacity of Houthis to launch ballistic missiles against Israel. The country's anti -missile defense system regularly intercepts the launches, but some have succeeded.
Eyad Kourdi de CNN, Ebrahim Dahman and Nadeen Ebrahim have annoyed in this report.
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