Israel admits the failure to intercept a missile from Yemen at Ben Gurion Airport

The Israeli army announced on Sunday that a missile fell on Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv (central Israel), saying it was launched from Yemen.

The Israeli army admitted for the first time that it failed to intercept the missile, which resulted in a number of injuries.

The Israeli army said in a brief statement on X, “The Israeli Arrow and USA THAAD air defense systems failed to intercept a ballistic missile launched from Yemen”.

The Israeli army claimed in the statement that “initial results indicate no defect in the detection process or in the operation of the home front’s interception and warning systems”.

The statement claimed that the failure to intercept the missile “was most likely due to a specific technical defect in the interceptor missile that was fired at the attacking missile”.

The statement claimed also, that “since the beginning of the war, the air force has intercepted dozens of missiles launched from Yemen with a success rate exceeding 95%”.

This is the first official admission by Israel that its defenses failed to intercept a Yemeni missile, despite its possession of two defense systems considered among the most advanced in the world: the Israeli Arrow and the US made THAAD systems.

The rocket landed in an open area at Ben Gurion Airport, slightly injuring seven people and shutting down air traffic for about an hour.

In a previous statement, the Israeli army announced on Sunday that a missile it said was launched from Yemen had fallen at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, after it failed to be intercepted, resulting in a number of injuries.

For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that his country’s response to the Houthi group, after a missile fired from Yemen landed at Ben Gurion Airport, would not be “just one strike, but rather multiple strikes”.

This came in a video address broadcast by Netanyahu on his X account, following a rocket attack Sunday morning on Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, resulting in minor injuries to seven people and the announcement by approximately 10 international airlines that they were suspending flights to Israel.

Netanyahu said, “We’ve acted in the past (against the Houthis), and we will act in the future”.

He added, “The United States, in coordination with us, is moving against them… It won’t be just a strike and that’s it—but there will be strikes”.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened on Sunday to respond sevenfold to a missile fired from Yemen that fell near Ben Gurion Airport near the coastal city of Tel Aviv.

“Whoever strikes us will be struck back sevenfold,” the Defense Minister said in a brief statement… Israeli police confirmed that a rocket fell near the airport.

Millions of Israelis fled to shelters after sirens sounded in the greater Tel Aviv area (Gush Dan), Jerusalem, and settlements in the West Bank.

Aircraft landings and takeoffs at the Israeli airport were halted after the missile was launched, and some aircraft attempting to land were forced to circle in the air, according to Yedioth Ahronoth.

Meanwhile, the Israeli police urged citizens not to approach the airport area.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the missile launch, but Yemen’s Ansar Allah has been carrying out military operations using drones and various missiles against targets in Israel for months.

On Saturday, Ansar Allah announced a military operation using a Palestine 2 hypersonic ballistic missile targeting a military target in central Israel.