Yemen's Houthis Claim Missile Attack On Tel Aviv Day After Israeli Air Strikes At Sanaa Airport

In a statement, the Houthis claimed to have launched drones at the Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv and also at a ship in the Arabian Sea. The Houthi attack temporarily halted arrivals at the airport.

Yemen's Houthis claimed to have launched drones at Tel Aviv and a ship in the Arabian Sea.

Source : Getty Images

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Friday claimed to have fired a missile at Israel's Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. This came after Israel's military reported a missile had been intercepted and a day after Israel struck Sanaa's international airport and other locations in Houthi-held areas of Yemen.

In a statement, the Houthis stated that they also launched drones at Tel Aviv and a ship in the Arabian Sea. They further said that Israeli "aggression will only increase the determination and resolve of the great Yemeni people to continue supporting the Palestinian people", news agency AFP reported.

According to The Times of Israel, the apparent Houthi attack temporarily halted arrivals at the airport. Four flights from Europe were delayed. The airport resumed its scheduled acitivities for nearly 30 minutes. 

Earlier today, Israel's military said "one missile that was launched from Yemen was intercepted before crossing into Israeli territory." However, the country did not make any immediate comment on the other attacks claimed by the Houthis.

The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and other UN staff were reportedly present at Yemen's Sanaa airport, waiting for a flight, when Israeli airstrike hit it, killing six people, BBC reported.

The report also stated that around 30 travellers and staff were wounded on Friday during the airport attack. The WHO chief said one of his plane's crew was among the injured. Meanwhile, UN Secretary General António Guterres called the strikes "especially alarming".

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its "fighter jets conducted intelligence-based strikes on military targets belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime on the western coast and inland Yemen".

Following the attack, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said that the country would "continue to cut off the terror arm of the Isranian axis of evil until we complete the jon". He also said that Israel was "only just starting with the Houthis". 

These strikes, which Israel's military called rebel "military targets", came a day after the rebels claimed to have launched missile and drone attacks on Israel.