ISTANBUL 

Israel claimed on early Thursday that it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen.

A military statement said that the missile was intercepted by air defense systems without the activation of air-raid sirens.

For its part, the Yemeni Houthi group said that it targeted Israel's Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv with a hypersonic ballistic missile, causing the halt of the air traffic at the airport.

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 more than 61,700 victims have been killed in an Israeli genocide.