ISTANBUL

Israel closed the Ben the Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv on Thursday after a missile launch from Yemen was detected, according to Israeli Channel 12.

Sirens were heard across the central regions, including Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and surrounding areas, the Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported.

The Israeli army later confirmed the detection of a missile launched from the direction of Yemen.

The emergency service said in a statement that several people sustained minor injuries while trying to reach shelters following the missile launch, in addition to multiple cases of panic.

The Yemeni Houthi group announced it "successfully" targeted the Ben Gurion Airport with a hypersonic ballistic missile, according to group spokesperson Yahya Saree.

The Houthis have targeted ships passing through the Red and Arabian seas, the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden since November 2023 in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where more than 53,000 victims have been killed in a brutal Israeli assault for more than 19 months, most of them women and children.

The group halted attacks when a Gaza ceasefire was declared in January between Israel and the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, but resumed them after Israel's renewed airstrikes on Gaza in March.

Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi announced a ceasefire on May 6 between the Houthi group and the US. It came shortly after President Donald Trump said the group agreed to halt attacks on commercial ships.

The Houthis confirmed the ceasefire with Washington, but said it has no relation to its confrontation with Israel in support of the Palestinian people.