Missile launch from Yemen halts air traffic at Israeli airport

Air traffic at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport was temporarily halted yesterday evening after the Israeli army announced it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen.

This marks the sixteenth missile that the Houthi group claimed to have launched towards Israel in May, in addition to six drones, according to figures compiled by Anadolu based on Houthi statements.

Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 reported that air traffic at Ben Gurion International Airport was suspended briefly following the missile launch from Yemen.

In a brief statement, the Israeli army said: “Following the sirens that were activated a short while ago in several areas across the country, one missile launched from Yemen was intercepted.”

The missile launch also led to the suspension of the Israeli State Cup football final, which was being held at Bloomfield Stadium in central Tel Aviv. According to the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, President Isaac Herzog was evacuated from the stadium to a secure location.

READ: Ryanair extends suspension of flights to Tel Aviv until end of July

The Houthi group stated that it had carried out an attack with a hypersonic ballistic missile targeting Israel’s airport. This came in response, the group claimed, to Israel’s recent strike on Sana’a International Airport in Yemen.

Efforts continue to remove the wreckage of an aircraft damaged in an airstrike carried out by Israeli warplanes targeting Sana’a International Airport, following the attack in Sanaa, Yemen on May 29, 2025. [Mohammed Hamoud – Anadolu Agency]

Efforts continue to remove the wreckage of an aircraft damaged in an airstrike carried out by Israeli warplanes targeting Sana’a International Airport, following the attack in Sanaa, Yemen on May 29, 2025. [Mohammed Hamoud – Anadolu Agency]

Efforts continue to remove the wreckage of an aircraft damaged in an airstrike carried out by Israeli warplanes targeting Sana’a International Airport, following the attack in Sanaa, Yemen on May 29, 2025. [Mohammed Hamoud – Anadolu Agency]

Efforts continue to remove the wreckage of an aircraft damaged in an airstrike carried out by Israeli warplanes targeting Sana’a International Airport, following the attack in Sanaa, Yemen on May 29, 2025. [Mohammed Hamoud – Anadolu Agency]

Efforts continue to remove the wreckage of an aircraft damaged in an airstrike carried out by Israeli warplanes targeting Sana’a International Airport, following the attack in Sanaa, Yemen on May 29, 2025. [Mohammed Hamoud – Anadolu Agency]

In a statement, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said: “The missile force conducted a military operation targeting Lod Airport [Ben Gurion] with a hypersonic ballistic missile.”

Saree confirmed that the attack “successfully achieved its objective,” forcing millions of Israelis “to flee to shelters and halting air traffic at the airport.”

He added that the operation was “a victory for the oppressed Palestinian people and their fighters, and a rejection of the genocide being committed by the Zionist enemy against our brothers in the Gaza Strip.”