On Thursday evening, the Houthis fired a missile in the direction of Israel, triggering widespread alarm and sending over a million Israelis racing to shelters and protected areas.
The Arrow 3 defense system successfully shot down the missile, but not before air raid sirens blared across numerous regions, including central Israel, the Sharon area, the Shephelah, and parts of the West Bank. During the alerts, operations at Ben Gurion Airport were temporarily suspended, affecting both arrivals and departures.
The timing of the alarms disrupted weekend festivities throughout the country, as tens of thousands of Israelis were out enjoying events. The alerts also interrupted Lag BaOmer celebrations, with children gathered around bonfires in communities across Israel.
According to Magen David Adom, there have been no direct injuries from the missile strike itself. However, several individuals suffered injuries while rushing to safety, and others experienced anxiety-related symptoms. Debris from the interceptor missile landed in Alon Shvut, located in Gush Etzion.
Flights that were scheduled to land at Ben Gurion Airport faced delays as a result of the alert. Many of the affected planes belong to international airlines that continue to operate routes to and from Israel despite the conflict.
Nasr al-Din Amer, a senior figure in the Houthi movement, took to the platform X to issue a warning to Israel alongside a video showing sirens going off. “This entity (Israel) will not feel any calm as long as the attacks and siege on Gaza continue. Yemen will continue to exert military pressure on the Zionist enemy until it stops the attacks and lifts the siege. We will work towards more and more escalation, with the help of Allah.”
At the same time, Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar newspaper, which is linked to Hezbollah, reported that Houthi leadership believes their actions against Israel are becoming increasingly impactful and may help accelerate an end to the war in Gaza.
A military official based in Sanaa told the publication that the Houthis intend to escalate their efforts targeting Ben Gurion Airport, aiming to bring all air traffic to a standstill—mirroring the closure they achieved at the Eilat seaport. The source claimed that recent missile activity carried multiple warnings and emphasized that the Houthis will enforce a flight ban by force. “The Yemeni threat is ongoing ‘hour by hour,’” he warned, also mentioning that drone strikes are part of their operational plans “to prevent planes from landing or taking off from Ben Gurion.”
Just a day earlier, on Wednesday morning at 7:44 a.m., sirens sounded again in areas around Jerusalem, the Shephelah, and the West Bank, as another Houthi missile was launched and intercepted. That incident marked the third launch within a single day, following two prior attacks—one of which was brought down by Israeli defenses, while the other failed to reach Israeli territory.
{Matzav.com}