Flights suspended at Ben Gurion Airport after missile from Yemen strikes near terminal
TEL AVIV — Israeli authorities suspended all flight operations at Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday after a missile launched from Yemen struck near Terminal 3, injuring several people and exposing failures in Israel's missile defense systems.
Emergency service Magen David Adom confirmed that multiple individuals sustained minor injuries in the incident, which followed air raid sirens across central Israel.
The Israeli army reported unsuccessful interception attempts by both the domestically developed Arrow system and the US-supplied THAAD system.
The missile impact triggered an immediate halt to all flight operations at Israel's main international airport, with planes forced to circle in holding patterns and unable to land, according to Yedioth Ahronoth.
"This is the first missile we failed to intercept since combat resumed in Gaza," a security source told Channel 12, as the military launched an internal probe into the failure.
Yemen's Houthi group claimed responsibility for the attack, calling it a 'warning' to international airlines operating in Israel.The missile strike marks the third such attack in two days, following Houthi claims of targeting Ramat David Airbase and the Tel Aviv region.Israeli opposition leader Benny Gantz accused Iran of orchestrating the attack, saying, 'Iran is launching ballistic missiles at the State of Israel and must be held accountable.'Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed retaliation, stating, 'Whoever harms us, we will harm them many times over.'The Houthis began launching missile and drone attacks on Israeli-linked targets in November 2023, citing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.The group temporarily paused its operations during a brief ceasefire in January but resumed attacks after Israel's renewed military campaign in March.The ongoing conflict in Gaza has now entered its 19th month, with over 52,500 Palestinians killed since October 2023, according to local health authorities. — Agencies
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