Benjamin Netanyahu has promised Israel will strike back against Yemen’s Houthis and “their Iranian terror masters” after a missile launched by the militia movement hit the perimeter of Israel’s main airport.
On X, the Israeli prime minister said on Sunday that Israel would respond to the Houthi attack “at a time and place of our choosing”. On Telegram, Netanyahu said Israel had acted against the Houthis in the past and would act again in the future.
“It will not happen in one bang, but there will be many bangs,” he said.
The Houthis, who are backed by Iran, claimed responsibility for the attack on Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport, and Israeli military confirmed that the missile was launched from Yemen.
Local media reported that Israeli and US defence systems had failed to down the missile, which left a deep crater in an open field on the perimeter of the airport, and that an investigation was under way.
Most attacks from Yemen during the conflict in Gaza have been intercepted by Israel’s missile defence systems, apart from a drone strike that hit Tel Aviv last July. Sunday’s missile strike sent a plume of smoke into the air, caused panic among passengers in the terminal building and led to air traffic being suspended for an hour.
European and US carriers have cancelled flights for the next few days. Many had only recently begun to resume services to Israel after the Gaza ceasefire, which temporarily paused hostilities between mid-January and mid-March. This followed their suspension of flights for much of the last year and a half.
The missile attack came hours before Israel’s security cabinet was due to vote on plans to expand the fighting in Gaza with a new offensive.
Military officials confirmed on Sunday that tens of thousands of reservists had been called up, though it was unclear when any new operations would be launched.
The aim of the offensive would be to put pressure on Hamas to release hostages it continues to hold in Gaza; to further degrade the militant Islamist group’s military capabilities; and to “seize ground” that would be used as leverage in future negotiations, officials said.
Hardliners in the Israeli cabinet have been pushing for a broad offensive in Gaza for many months.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s far-right national security minister, told Israeli Army Radio he wanted to see a “powerful” expansion of the war, but did not disclose details as to what the new plans would entail.
“We need to increase the intensity and continue until we achieve total victory. We must win a total victory,” he said. Ben-Gvir demanded that Israel bomb “the food and electricity supplies” in Gaza.
Two months ago, Israel imposed a tight blockade of Gaza, stopping all food, medicine, fuel and other items entering the devastated territory. Israel’s military is making preparations for new orders to allow aid in, but only under strict conditions. Israeli officials accuse Hamas of diverting humanitarian assistance to fund its military operations. Hamas denies the charge.
Israeli airstrikes have continued daily across Gaza. At least seven Palestinians including two parents and their two children, two and four, were killed in southern and central Gaza on Sunday, Palestinian medics said.
Israel’s military said on Sunday that two soldiers were killed in combat in the territory, bringing the number of Israeli troops killed since fighting resumed in March to six.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 250 hostages. Israel says 59 hostages remain in Gaza, although roughly 35 of them are said to be dead.
The Israeli offensive has killed more than 52,000 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians. The fighting has displaced more than 90% of its population, often multiple times. Hunger has been widespread and the shortage of food has set off looting.
The attacks by the Houthis, who control swathes of Yemen, underline the regional dimension of the conflict in Gaza. The Iran-backed militia began targeting Israel and Red Sea shipping in late 2023, claiming it was acting out of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Israel deployed warplanes on three big air raids last year after Houthi missile attacks. The strikes targeted power stations, port facilities, the airport in Sana’a and “military infrastructure”.
The US president, Donald Trump, in March ordered large-scale strikes against the Houthis to reduce their capabilities and deter them from targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
The Houthis’ military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said on Sunday that the missile strike meant Israel’s main airport was “no longer safe for air travel”.
The Israel Airports Authority (IAA) said the attack marked the first time a missile had fallen so close to Ben Gurion airport’s terminal and the runways. Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service said it had treated at least six people with light to moderate injuries.
Lufthansa Group, which includes the airlines Lufthansa, Swiss, Brussels and Austrian, said it had halted flights to and from Tel Aviv through to Tuesday because of the situation. ITA Airways said it had cancelled flights from Italy to Israel through to Wednesday, while Air France cancelled flights on Sunday, saying customers were being transferred to flights on Monday.
Ryanair suspended flights on Sunday but flights were still scheduled for Monday, according to the IAA.
