Yemen's Houthis claim targeting Israel's Ben Gurion airport

ANKARA

The Yemeni Houthi group on Friday announced targeting the vicinity of Ben Gurion airport in central Israel with a ballistic missile.

Spokesman Yahya Saree said the operation hit "a military target" near the airport using the Zulfiqar ballistic missile.

Sirens were sounded across central Israel and in Jerusalem area. The missile was intercepted by Israeli air defenses, according to the Times of Israel news website.

The Houthi spokesman said the group also targeted two US aircraft carriers along with their escorting warships in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.

He added that another US MQ-9 drone was downed while carrying out a hostile act over Sanaa.

"The American military buildup and continued aggression will only lead to more counter-attack and attack operations, clashes and confrontations," the spokesman added.

US President Donald Trump ordered in mid-March "decisive and powerful military action" against the Houthi group and later threatened to "completely annihilate them."

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 over 51,000 people have been killed in a brutal Israeli assault for more than 18 months.

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