ISTANBUL

Air traffic at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport was suspended Friday following the launch of a missile from Yemen, according to Israeli Channel 12.

“Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel, a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted by the IAF,” the army said in a statement.

Alarms were sounded in various areas across the country, including in major cities such as Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, Petah Tikva, Jerusalem, Holon, Rishon LeZion, Bnei Brak, Modi'in and Rehovot, the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported.

The army and Israeli media did not note any damage from the missile.

The Yemeni Houthi group announced it launched a military operation targeting the Ben Gurion Airport with a hypersonic ballistic missile.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group carried out a "qualitative" military operation targeting the airport with a missile called "Palestine-2."

"Our operations will continue until the aggression on the Gaza Strip stops and the siege is lifted," Saree emphasized in a televised speech.

The Houthis have intensified missile and drone strikes on Israel since Israeli forces resumed attacks on the Gaza Strip in March after two months of a shaky ceasefire.

Since November 2023, the group has targeted commercial shipping in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea in support of Palestinians in Gaza, where nearly 59,000 victims have been killed in an Israeli onslaught.