Israel’s Netanyahu vows retaliation after Houthi missile strike near Tel Aviv airport

Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday vowed retaliation after Yemeni Houthis's missile strike near Ben Gurion airport. 

 

"We have acted against them in the past and we will act in the future, but I cannot go into detail... it will not happen in one bang, but there will be many bangs,” said Netanyahu in a video on the Telegram platform. 

 

Several flights including Air India cancelled flights for the next few days after the attack targeting the airport. 

 

While claiming responsibility for the attack, Houthis's military spokesperson Yahya Saree said Israel's main airport was "no longer safe for air travel". Houthis have recently intensified missile launches at Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. 

 

The Ben Gurion airport, the country's main international airport, is situated near the major city of Tel Aviv. A big crater was caused by the impact of the missile attack near the Terminal 3 parking lot of the airport.

 

"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," Israeli police commander Yair Hetzroni said. 

 

Netanyahu is set to meet defence officials and security ministers to decide on the retaliatory strike after the Houthi attack. 

 

Most attacks from Yemen have been intercepted by Israel's missile defence systems, apart from a drone strike that hit Tel Aviv last year. 

 

Several airlines including Lufthansa, Delta, ITA Airways and Air France said they had cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv. 

 

Reportedly, the strikes came as Israeli ministers were close to signing off on plans to expand the military operation in Gaza, which resumed after the two-month truce in March. 

 

Efforts to revive the ceasefire have not heeded any results. Recently, US President Donald Trump ordered a large-scale strike against the Houthis to deter them from targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea. The US strikes have killed many people in Yemen. 

 

Since the Israel-Hamas war erupted and Tel Aviv intensified its attacks in the Gaza Strip in 2023, Houthis have been targeting Israel and vessels in the Red Sea. 

Middle East