Houthi Missile Strikes Tel Aviv Airport, Air India Cancels Flights to Israel for 2 Days
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, May 4: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday pledged multiple strikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels after a missile fired by the Iran-backed group landed near Ben Gurion Airport– the country’s main international airport, leaving a plume of smoke causing panic among passengers and briefly halting flights and commuter traffic on Sunday.
At least eight people were injured in the attack, Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s national emergency service, said.
Claiming responsibility for the attack, Houthis said they acted in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. In a video posted to his personal X account, Netanyahu said Israel’s retaliation for the Houthi attack will not be a ‘one-and-done’ situation, and “there will be blows” in response to the attack.
“We are acting against them,” the Israeli premier said, referring to previous Israeli Defence Force (IDF) operations against the Houthis in Yemen. “We have acted in the past, and we will act in the future. I cannot detail everything. The United States, in coordination with us, is also acting against them. It’s not a one-and-done, but there will be blows,” said Netanyahu.
The ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels towards Israel landed just 75 meters from Terminal 3 reportedly bypassing four layers of air defence and hit a grove adjacent to an access road within the airport’s perimeter–one of the country’s most sensitive zones– creating a 25-metre deep crater.
IDF said their several attempts to intercept the missile failed before it landed near the airport. However, a direct hit on terminal infrastructure was averted, yet it caused panic among passengers in the terminal building.
The attack on Ben-Gurion International Airport came hours before top Israeli Cabinet ministers were set to vote on whether to intensify the country’s military operations in the Gaza Strip. The army meanwhile began calling up thousands of reserves in anticipation of a wider operation in Gaza, officials said.
The missile launch on Sunday set off air raid sirens in multiple parts of Israel. A plume of smoke was visible at the airport, according to footage shared by Israeli media. Passengers were heard yelling and scrambling for cover.
It was not immediately clear whether the projectile, which landed in a field near an access road leading to airport parking lots, was the missile or its fragments, or an interceptor from Israel’s air defence systems. It left a deep crater in the ground and a nearby road was littered with dirt.
Police said that air, road and rail traffic were halted following the attack. The traffic resumed after about an hour, Israel Airports Authority said. MDA said four people were lightly wounded.
Israeli media said multiple international airlines cancelled flights following the strike. The war with Hamas and then Hezbollah in Lebanon had led a wave of airlines to suspend flights to Israel but they have since returned to pre-war levels.
Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said in a video statement that the group fired a hypersonic ballistic missile at the airport. Houthi rebels have been firing at Israel since the war with Gaza erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, and the missiles have mostly been intercepted, although Israel’s missile defence systems, causing damage.
Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, has also vowed a forceful response against the Iran-aligned Houthis. “Whoever harms us, we’ll harm them sevenfold,” he said. He said several attempts to intercept the missile failed before it landed near the airport. However, a direct hit on terminal infrastructure was averted, yet it caused panic among passengers in the terminal building.
Israel has a US-made THAAD system along with an indigenous Arrow system to intercept the missile, but both of them failed to stop the attack on Sunday. Authorities have launched a full-scale investigation into the breach of Israel’s air defence and the missile’s impact site.
The military released a video of the aftermath of the strike showing officers standing at the edge of a crater in an orchard, with the airport’s control tower visible in the distance. Yair Hezroni, the police’s central district chief, can be heard saying in the video that “you can see the area just behind us: a crater was formed here, several dozen metres (yards) wide and several dozen metres deep/”
Air India has suspended flights to Israel’s capital Tel Aviv for the next two days following the missile attack. A flight from Delhi to Tel Aviv was diverted to Abu Dhabi after the incident, the airlines said in a statement. Air India has also assured that those with valid tickets will be offered a waiver or an option to reschedule. The decision, Air India said, has been taken to ensure the safety of passengers and staff.
“Air India flight AI139 from Delhi to Tel Aviv of 4 May 2025 was diverted to Abu Dhabi after an incident at Ben Gurion airport this morning. The flight has landed normally in Abu Dhabi and will soon return to Delhi. Consequently, our operations to and from Tel Aviv will remain suspended with immediate effect till 6 May 2025, to ensure the safety of our customers and staff. Our staff on ground is assisting customers and helping them with alternative arrangements,” the airline said in a statement.
“Customers booked on our flights with valid tickets between 4 and 6 May 2025 will be offered a one-time waiver on rescheduling or full refunds for cancellation. We would like to reiterate that at Air India, the safety of our customers and crew remains top priority,” it added.
