Yemen's Houthi group claims missile strike on Israel's Ben Gurion airport

Yemen's Houthi group claimed responsibility for launching a ballistic missile targeting Ben Gurion Airport in central Israel.

In a televised statement broadcast by the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV, the group's military spokesperson Yahya Sarea on Tuesday, 2 July, said they had "carried out a special military operation targeting Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv using a hypersonic ballistic missile of the Palestine-2 type."

According to Sarea, the missile strike "successfully achieved its goal" by forcing "millions of settlers into shelters and disrupting airport operations."

Sarea also claimed that a wave of one-way unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks targeted what he described as "three sensitive sites" in Eilat, Tel Aviv, and Ashkelon, Xinhua news agency reported.

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The Houthi spokesperson reiterated the group's position that it would continue military operations "in support of the Palestinian people" until Israel halts its military actions in Gaza.

In a statement released earlier in the day, the Israeli military said Houthi forces fired a missile toward Israel, triggering air raid sirens in central and southern parts of the country before it was intercepted. No injuries were reported.

Israeli defence minister Israel Katz vowed on Tuesday to retaliate against Yemen's Houthi forces after the missile attack.

Since November 2023, the Houthi group has launched multiple missile and drone attacks against Israel, asserting these actions are in solidarity with Palestinians in the besieged enclave.

The group, which controls much of northern Yemen, has aligned itself politically and militarily with the Palestinian people during the ongoing hostilities between Israel and Hamas.

In response to the attacks, Israel has conducted airstrikes on key infrastructure in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, targeting energy facilities and military sites.

These retaliatory strikes have resulted in significant casualties and material damage, according to local Yemeni officials.