A drone launched from Yemen by Houthi rebels struck the arrivals hall of Ramon Airport in southern Israel on Sunday, according to the Israeli military and the Israel Airports Authority.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed that no warning sirens were activated during the incident, noting that the matter is being investigated.
Normally, Israel’s multi-layered air defense system sounds alerts before drones or missiles approach, and most Houthi-launched drones have previously been intercepted before reaching Israeli territory.
An initial review by the Israeli Air Force revealed that the drone was tracked but was not identified as hostile, allowing it to bypass the country’s defenses.
“There is no indication of a technical malfunction in the existing detection systems,” the military stated, adding that an “extensive investigation” is underway. The IDF also reported that several other drones launched on Sunday were successfully intercepted.
Following the strike, the Israel Airports Authority said southern airspace over Ramon Airport was closed for about 90 minutes before flights resumed.
The airport, one of Israel’s key international gateways, primarily serves the resort city of Eilat on the Red Sea.
Footage circulating online showed shattered glass windows and debris scattered across the arrivals hall. Israel’s emergency service, Magen David Adom, reported receiving a call at 2:35 p.m. local time regarding the incident and confirmed that two people sustained minor injuries.
After the attack, the Houthi-controlled Yemeni Armed Forces issued a warning to airlines, declaring that “the airports inside occupied Palestine are not safe and will be continuously targeted.”
The group claimed its drone “directly hit the airport and caused the airport to shut down, halting air traffic.”
The incident marks a further escalation in the long-range hostilities between Israel and the Iran-backed Houthis, who say their strikes are carried out in support of Palestinians in Gaza.
The rebels have also disrupted commercial shipping routes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, vital arteries for global trade.
In May, a Houthi-fired ballistic missile evaded Israel’s Arrow defense system and hit Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, briefly suspending flights. It was the first time the group had successfully struck such a fortified site.
Tensions intensified further in late August when the Houthis launched a ballistic missile fitted with a cluster warhead. Israel responded with a strike in Sana’a that killed the group’s prime minister and several senior figures.
An Israeli security official said the attack eliminated “a majority of the leadership,” including key ministers.
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Asked whether the Houthis’ military chief and defense minister were among the dead, the official remarked, “If they are not dead, we will continue to hunt them down.”
Israel has since continued targeting Houthi military positions and infrastructure it says the group uses for its operations.
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