Yemen: Houthis fire missile at Tel Aviv airport, Israel vows to respond 'vigorously'

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed Friday, May 9, to respond "vigorously" to Houthi missiles, shortly after the Israeli military intercepted a missile claimed by Yemeni rebels. "The Houthis continue to fire Iranian missiles at Israel. As we promised, we will respond vigorously, in Yemen and wherever necessary," Katz said in a message on X.

The Israeli army announced earlier that it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen, where the Houthis said it had targeted Tel Aviv airport. Loud explosions were heard over Jerusalem by AFP journalists. "Following the sirens that sounded recently in several regions of Israel, a missile fired from Yemen was intercepted," the army said in a statement.

The Houthis, who control large swathes of Yemen, claimed to have targeted Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurion International Airport with a "hypersonic ballistic missile." Their military spokesman, Yahya Saree, also reported a drone attack "targeting a vital target of the Israeli enemy in the occupied Jaffa region," south of Tel Aviv. At Ben-Gurion Airport, a flight from Larnaca, Cyprus, had to delay its landing, according to airport authorities. "Everything is back to normal," an airport spokeswoman later said.

On Sunday, a Houthi missile struck the airport perimeter —an unprecedented attack. The attack led most foreign airlines serving Tel Aviv to suspend their flights. Following the start of the war in Gaza, sparked by an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Yemeni rebels have carried out dozens of missile and drone attacks against Israel, claiming to be acting in solidarity with the Palestinians.

In retaliation, Israel carried out strikes this week against the airport in Sanaa – the capital of Yemen – which it claims to have completely disabled, along with power stations and cement factories.

Houthi attacks on Israeli airports and ships "will continue until the aggression against Gaza ceases and the siege is lifted," their spokesperson said Friday.

On Thursday, Defense Minister Israel Katz also threatened Iranian leaders, accused of supporting the Houthis, that he would do to them what Israel did "to Hamas in Gaza."