A drone attack launched by Houthi militants in Yemen shut down an airport in southern Israel for several hours on Sunday, and slightly injured two people, after an Israeli alert system failed to raise alarms about the incoming assault.
The Israeli military said in a statement late Sunday that an initial inquiry indicated that the Air Force’s interception and alert systems had spotted a drone from Yemen that ultimately hit Ramon Airport, near the southern city of Eilat, but failed to classify it as hostile. “There is no indication of a technical malfunction,” the military said, adding that it would conduct an “extensive” follow-up investigation.
In a separate statement earlier in the day, the Israeli military said that two additional drones “that made their way from Yemen” had been intercepted before crossing into Israeli territory.
The Houthi attack, a rare direct hit on Israel by the militant group, followed the Israeli killing late last month of several top Houthi leaders, including prime minister Ahmed al-Rahawi.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces affirm that they will escalate their military operations and will not back down from their support for Gaza, regardless of the consequences,” a Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said in an address late on Sunday. He vowed that all airports in Israel would be “unsafe and will be continuously targeted.”
In May, a Houthi attack briefly halted operations at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv after the Israeli military failed to intercept the missile.
The Houthis have been launching attacks on Israel, and on commercial ships in the Red Sea, since shortly after the war between Israel and Hamas began in the Gaza Strip.
Like Hamas, along with Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Yemeni militants are backed by Iran and have served as one of its proxies in its conflict with Israel. The Houthis have framed their attacks as an effort to force Israel to end its military assault in Gaza, begun after the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and to allow more aid to enter the enclave.
The attack on Israel’s second-busiest airport, after Ben Gurion, left two people injured. According to Israel’s emergency medical service, a 63-year-old man sustained shrapnel wounds but was fully conscious, and a 52-year-old woman was injured when she fell. Both were taken to a nearby hospital.
Israeli news media reported that the drone had hit near a passenger terminal. The airport authorities later said that the facility had resumed operations.
The attack followed several attempted Houthi strikes earlier in the week, and ratcheted up the escalating tensions between Israel and the Yemeni militia.
On Thursday, Israel Katz, Israel’s defense minister, announced that the Houthis were again firing at Israel and vowed to strike back forcefully.
Ephrat Livni is a Times reporter covering breaking news around the world. She is based in Washington.
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