A missile launched by Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen on Sunday briefly halted flights and commuter traffic at Israel’s main international airport after an impact left a plume of smoke and caused panic among passengers. The Houthi rebels have been striking Israel throughout the war in Gaza in solidarity with Palestinians. The attack on Ben-Gurion International Airport came hours before top Israeli Cabinet ministers were set to vote on whether to intensify the country’s military operations in the Gaza Strip. The army meanwhile began calling up thousands of reserves in anticipation of a wider operation in Gaza, officials said. The missile launch Sunday set off air raid sirens in multiple parts of Israel. A plume of smoke was visible at the airport, according to footage shared by Israeli media. Passengers were heard yelling and scrambling for cover. It was not immediately clear whether the projectile, which landed in a field near an access road leading to airport parking lots, was the missile or its fragments, or an interceptor from Israel’s air defense systems. It left a deep crater in the ground and a nearby road was littered with dirt.

Yemen's Houthi rebels claim to have used a hypersonic ballistic missile to carry out a strike on Ben Gurion Airport as they warn the area is no longer safe. The Israeli military confirmed its defense system failed to shoot down the missile despite several attempts to incercept it. The missile hit the perimeter of the airport near Terminal 3.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have been launching missiles at Israel, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. A man and a woman with light injuries were being taken to hospital and two people were being treated at the scene for the effects of panic. A Reuters reporter at the airport heard sirens and saw passengers reacting by running towards safe rooms.