TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A drone fired by Yemeni Hooti extremists was slammed into an airport south of the country on Sunday in violation of Israel’s multi-layered air prevention, Israeli forces said, temporarily closing Comerst Air Space and bypassing southern Israel.
Israel said Yemeni Hooti rebels attacked with several drones. Most of them were intercepted outside Israel.
Israeli airport authorities have said at least one drone slipped through Israel’s defense system and crashed into a passenger terminal at Ramon International Airport near the Eilat city of Resort City, blew away glass windows and sent undulating smoke.
Houthis claimed responsibility for the strike.
Israel’s Magen David Adom Emergency Rescue Service said he treated the 63-year-old man for a light rap shotgun wound. Damage to Ramon Airport appeared to be limited and resumed when normal flights resumed within hours.
The attack will come in a few days Israel is attacked by Sanaa capital, owned by Yemeni rebels He killed Prime Minister Houthi and other officials in the cabinet in a massive escalation of a conflict almost two years ago between Yemen’s Israel and Iran-backed extremist groups.
Saying they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians, Housis began firing missiles and drones at Israel after Hamas’ October 7 attack sparked a catastrophic campaign by Israeli forces in Gaza.
Houthi Drone attacks Israel airport
After Israel’s targeted murder of Hooty Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawy Last Thursday, extremists vowed to escalate attacks targeting Israel and merchant ships navigating key trade routes through the Red Sea off Yemen.
Houthis welcomed the attack on Ramon Airport on Sunday – about 19 kilometers (12 miles) from Eilat on the southern tip of Israel – as a “unique and qualitative military operation.”
“The enemy airports are not safe. Foreigners must leave them for their own safety,” wrote Nasruddin Amer, deputy director of Houthi Media Office, on social media. “Other sensitive targets are on fire.”
Shortly before Sunday’s strike, Israeli forces said they intercepted three Hooty attack drones near Israel’s border with Egypt, but were unable to detect the fourth drone that struck Ramon Airport without generating an air siren. The military said it was investigating what had happened.
Houthis has stepped up its air attacks on Israel in recent months. This includes warheading cluster ammunition that will scatter small ammunition across a wide area and otherwise challenge Israeli air defense systems that intercept most drones and missiles.
Houthi attacks Israel, which has been happening frequently since the Israeli Hamas war broke out in October 2023, but rarely causes major damage and does not attack important targets like airports. However, in May, a Houthi missile was hit near Israel’s main Ben-Gurion airport.urged many international airlines to cancel flights to Tel Aviv for several months.
Israel advances with the operation of Gaza city
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday vowed to advance Israeli operations in Gaza city as negotiations continued between Israel and Hamas.
“Our efforts in Gaza, our last base, and in fact the last important base, Gaza city is part of our efforts to complete the crushing of Iranian axis chokeholds,” Netanyahu said at the start of weekly cabinet meetings in Jerusalem.
Netanyahu claimed that more than 100,000 Palestinians had left Gaza before the project, despite international organizations fighting against the figures. Where did the Palestinians ask in Gaza? It may probably be safe.
Last week, only 41,000 people have been evacuated from the estimated approximately 1 million people around Gaza since mid-August, according to the United Nations.
Stagnant negotiations between Hamas and Israel
Meanwhile, attempts to restart negotiations between Israel and Hamas are full.
Bassem Naim, a member of Hamas’ Politburo, said extremist groups would not abandon their arms until an independent Palestinian state from Jerusalem is established as the capital. However, he said Hamas is ready for a long ceasefire and will release hostages still being detained in Gaza in exchange for the full withdrawal of many Palestinians imprisoned by Israel and Israeli forces from Gaza.
Naim said Hamas is still waiting for Israel to respond to 60 days Proposal of ceasefire It was created last month by an Egyptian-Qatari mediator.
The Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment on the negotiations.
There are still 48 hostages in custody in Gaza, 20 of whom believe Israel is still alive. The militants lured 251 people and killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel during the war-caused attack on October 7, 2023.
Strike kills 13 Palestinians in Gaza
At least 13 Palestinians were killed on an Israeli strike Sunday morning, including six children and three women, according to a local hospital. Sifa Hospital in northern Gaza said eight people were killed in an Israeli strike at a school where displaced people were refugee. Israeli military said it was targeting extremists around the schools and warned civilians to evacuate before the strike. The military accused Hamas of hiding weapons and extremists within civilian regions.
Five other five people have been killed in strikes in tents and apartment buildings in central Gaza and Gaza city, according to a local hospital. Israeli troops did not immediately comment on other strikes.
The Gaza Health Ministry said a total of 64,368 people have been killed and 162,776 have been injured since the start of the war. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but says that more than half of the victims are women and children.
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Magiddy reported from Cairo.
