Tel aviv: A drone launched from Yemen has come down near the Israeli airport of Ramon in the south of the country, the military said on Sunday. ‘No sirens were sounded, the incident is under review,’ the army stated on Telegram. Israeli news site ynet reported that one person was slightly injured in the incident.
According to Ghana News Agency, Israel’s aviation authority confirmed that the airport’s arrival hall was hit, and the airspace above Ramon Airport, located to the north of Eilat – Israel’s southernmost city on the Red Sea – has been temporarily closed. This development follows the military’s earlier announcement that three drones launched from Yemen had been intercepted by air defense systems.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for several drone attacks across Israel, including the recent incident at Ramon Airport. A spokesman for the Iran-backed group stated that Ramon Airport was among the targets hit. This is not the first instance of such attacks; in early May, a missile launched by the Houthis landed near Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport.
The ongoing conflict has seen the Iranian-backed Houthi militia regularly attacking Israel with rockets and drones in support of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas militia in the Gaza Strip. In response, Israel has consistently targeted sites in Yemen. A recent airstrike on Sana’a resulted in the deaths of Houthi premier Ahmed al-Rahawi, nine of his ministers, and two other Houthi representatives.