Netanyahu vows to strike back against Iran and Houthis after airport attack

Netanyahu (Image: Getty)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to retaliate against Iran and the Houthis after an attack on an airport near Tel Aviv. A missile launched by Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen briefly halted flights and traffic at Ben-Gurion International Airport on Sunday. The impact on open ground inside the airport's perimeter sent up a plume of smoke and sparked panic among passengers.

In a post on social media, Mr Netanyahu said: "Attacks by the Houthis emanate from Iran. Israel will respond to the Houthi attack against our main airport and, at a time and place of our choosing, to their Iranian terror masters." He also said the US was supporting Israeli operations against the Houthis. In a video, he said: "It’s not bang, bang and we’re done, but there will be bangs."

Passengers were heard screaming and scrambling for cover in footage of the attack shared by Israeli media. Air raid sirens sounded in multiple parts of the country. Police said air, road and rail traffic were halted. Israel Airports Authority said traffic resumed after about an hour. Israel’s paramedic service Magen David Adom said four people were lightly wounded. Israeli media said multiple international airlines had cancelled flights.

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Israeli emergency services clear a road outside Israel's Ben Gurion airport (Image: Getty)

Houthi military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree said in a video statement that the group fired a hypersonic ballistic missile at the airport.

Rebels from the group have targeted Israel since the war against Hamas in Gaza began on October 7, 2023. The missiles have mostly been intercepted, but some have penetrated Israel's missile defence systems.

Tel Aviv has struck back against the Houthis along with its main ally, the US, which launched a campaign of strikes in Yemen in March.

In his public response to the airport attack, Mr Netanyahu shared a post by Donald Trump in which the US President pinned the blame for Houthi attacks on Iran.

Mr Trump's Truth Social post from March alleged Iran was dictating the Houthis "every move" as well as supplying the rebels with military equipment and money.

The US leader said every shot fired by the Houthis from then on would be viewed as a shot fired from Iran, which he added would be held responsible.

Netanyahu shared a post by Donald Trump in which he pinned blame for the Houthi attacks on Iran (Image: Benjamin Netanyahu/X)

Yemen has been embroiled in civil war since 2014 when Houthi rebels seized the capital, Sanaa, forcing the internationally recognised government into exile in Saudi Arabia.

A Saudi-led coalition intervened months later and has been battling the rebels since 2015 to try and restore the government. The war has turned into a stalemated, proxy conflict.

The war has devastated Yemen and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters. More than 150,000 people, including fighters and civilians, have been killed.

On Saturday, the prime minister of Yemen ’s government, Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak, announced he was resigning because of political struggles, underscoring the fragility of an alliance fighting Houthi rebels in the Arab world’s most impoverished country.