Houthi Drone Hits Airport in Southern Israel

 A Houthi drone hit a southern Israeli airport on Sunday, marking a rare hit for the Yemeni rebel group, which has been attacking Israel over the war in Gaza.

The strike hit a passenger terminal of Ramon Airport, temporarily shutting it down, according to Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority. No sirens were sounded before the strike, according to the Israeli military, which said it was investigating the incident.

One man was lightly wounded from shrapnel and several other people showed symptoms of anxiety, according to Israel’s rescue services, Magen David Adom.

Nasr al-Din Amer, a Houthi official, said on X that “the enemy’s airports are not safe. Foreigners should leave them for their own safety. There are other sensitive targets under fire as well.”

The strike was the group’s first successful hit since Israel struck a gathering of Houthi officials late last month, killing the group’s prime minister and foreign minister. The group had vowed to retaliate ever since, and has been lobbing missiles and drones at Israel in recent weeks, including warheads with cluster munitions, according to Israel. Upon impact, such weapons disperse smaller bombs over a wide area.

Most were intercepted and none have caused significant damage.

Shortly before Sunday’s strike, the Israeli military said it intercepted three drones fired from Yemen.

A video shared in Israeli media showed large plumes of smoke emanating from what appeared to be the airport, but the extent of the damage to the facility wasn’t immediately clear. In May, the group hit the parking lot of a terminal at Ben Gurion Airport, the country’s main international hub, with a ballistic missile that evaded several efforts to shoot it down.

The Houthis have targeted Israel for almost two years in a show of support for Palestinians in Gaza and have persisted despite an Israeli and U.S. campaign of airstrikes in Yemen. Nearly a decade of warfare with a Saudi Arabian-led coalition has also done little to deter the group.

The Houthis weren’t a focus of Israeli intelligence collection before the war in Gaza, with Israel investing resources and manpower for many years in tracking more traditional enemies such as Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel has since been working to improve its intelligence on the group, recently establishing a new department dedicated to the Houthis, according to Israeli officials.