Missile fired by Yemen's Houthis lands near Israel's main airport

JERUSALEM: A missile fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels towards Israel on Sunday landed near Ben Gurion Airport, the country's main international airport, sending a plume of smoke into the air and causing panic among passengers in the terminal building.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, who claimed responsibility for the missile strike, have recently intensified missile launches at Israel, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate.


"We attacked in the past, we will attack in the future," he said in a video circulated by his office.

A senior Israeli police commander, Yair Hetzroni, showed reporters a crater caused by the impact of the missile, which airport authorities said landed beside a road near a Terminal 3 parking lot. The airport lies near the major city of Tel Aviv.

"You can see the scene right behind us here, a hole that opened up with a diameter of tens of metres and also tens of metres deep," Hetzroni said, adding that there was no significant damage. Israel's Channel 12 News said Netanyahu would meet security ministers and defence officials on Sunday to discuss a response.