The Yemeni Houthi group said on Tuesday that it targeted Ben Gurion Airport in central Israel with two missiles as regional tension continues to spike over ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza.
The group said two hypersonic ballistic missiles were launched at the airport, in the fifth such attack in the past few days.
There was no immediate Israeli comment on the Houthi claim. The Houthi group also said its forces targeted “hostile” US warships in the Red Sea, without providing any further details.
On Monday night, the Israeli army that it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen before entering Israeli airspace.
According to local media, the missile was shot down inside Israeli airspace and reported falling shrapnel of the interceptor missile inside Israeli territory.
The Houthi group has been attacking Israeli-linked ships passing through the Red and Arabian seas, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden with missiles and drones since late 2023, disrupting global trade for what it said was a show of solidarity with Gaza.
The group halted its attacks when a ceasefire was declared in January between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, but it threatened to resume the attacks when Israel blocked all humanitarian aid into Gaza on March 2.
Coastal areas in trouble
Western coastal areas of Yemen are on the verge of a catastrophe due to malnutrition, the United Nations children’s agency (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
“We’ve seen figures of 33 percent severe and acute malnutrition in certain areas. Especially on the west coast, in Hudaida it is on the verge of a catastrophe...where thousands will die,” Peter Hawkins from UNICEF told reporters in Geneva via video link in Sanaa.
Aid cuts by the US and other donors, coupled with a severe lack of food distribution in 2024, has contributed to critical situation in some areas. One in two children under the age of five years are malnourished in Yemen, alongside 1.4 million pregnant and lactating women, according to the agency.
“This catastrophe is not natural – it is man-made. Over a decade of conflict has decimate Yemen's economy, healthcare and infrastructure. More than half of the population rely on humanitarian aid,” Hawkins added.
Earlier this month, Medecins Sans Frontieres warned that malnutrition was growing in Yemen with needs outpacing current treatment capacity. It appealed for more support following a decline in humanitarian funding for the country.
UNICEF has appealed for an additional $157 million for 2025 and says its current appeal is only 25 percent funded. Since taking office on January 20, US President Donald Trump paused USAID programmes for 90 days, while his administration reviews if they align with its ‘America first’ policy.
