Yahya Saree, the military spokesman for the Houthi group in Yemen, said in a televised statement: "The Yemeni armed forces (affiliated with the group) targeted Ben Gurion Airport in the occupied Jaffa region with a hypersonic ballistic missile that successfully hit its target, in support of the oppressed Palestinian people and in rejection of the Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip."
Saree added that American and Israeli defense systems failed to intercept the missile at Ben Gurion Airport. He noted that the bombing resulted in "more than 3 million Zionists fleeing to shelters and the airport coming to a complete standstill for more than an hour."
The group warned international airlines against continuing flights to Ben Gurion Airport, saying it was "unsafe."
In this context, the private Israeli Channel 13 reported that Lufthansa, Swiss International Air Lines, Austrian Airlines, Air India, Alitalia, and Air Europa airlines have canceled their flights scheduled for Sunday to Tel Aviv.
An Air India flight en route from New Delhi to Israel turned back after circling Jordan, according to Yedioth Ahronoth, while a British Airways flight was delayed for two hours at London's airport. It remains unclear whether it will depart today.
Earlier on Sunday, Israel's Arrow and US THAAD air defense systems failed to intercept a ballistic missile launched from Yemen, according to an Israeli military statement. The missile landed in an open area at Ben Gurion Airport, slightly injuring seven people and shutting down air traffic for about an hour, according to the same source.
Israeli security sources told Army Radio: "The Israeli Arrow and American THAAD air defense systems attempted to intercept the ballistic missile launched from Yemen, but failed."
In a related context, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority said that Prime Minister Netanyahu will hold a security meeting at 3:00 PM (12:00 GMT) attended by the heads of the security establishment and a number of ministers to discuss the response to the Houthis.
The agency quoted an unnamed Israeli security source as saying: "After a missile fell on Ben Gurion Airport, we no longer have any restrictions. Israel will respond to the Houthis with force... We have the right to respond, and nothing will restrict us."
For its part, Hamas praised the Houthi group's targeting of Ben Gurion Airport in central Israel, describing it as "a firm commitment to the Palestinian cause despite Yemen's continued, barbaric American-Zionist aggression."
Following the Houthi announcement, Hamas said in a statement that it commends "the blessed strikes carried out by our brothers in Ansar Allah (the Houthis) and the Yemeni army (the group's forces) deep within the Zionist entity."
It added that the strike "expresses Yemen's firm commitment to the Palestinian cause and its genuine determination to stand by our oppressed Palestinian people, despite the ongoing barbaric American-Zionist aggression against our brotherly country." The movement said, "We affirm our full solidarity with Yemen in the face of the brutal American-Zionist aggression."
Despite the resumption of US airstrikes against Yemen following President Donald Trump's orders for the military to launch a "major offensive" against the Houthis, the group continues to carry out military operations targeting targets in Israel and US targets in the Red Sea.
