Missile fired by Yemen’s Houthis lands near Israel’s main airport

May 5, 2025 , 05:53 AM

By Mustafa Abu Ganeyeh

(May 4, 2025, REUTERS) — A missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels towards Israel on Sunday landed near the country’s main international airport, causing panic among passengers and drawing threats of retaliation against the group and Iran.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis claimed responsibility for the missile strike that struck near Ben Gurion Airport, the latest in a string of attacks, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate.

“Attacks by the Houthis emanate from Iran. Israel will respond to the Houthi attack against our main airport AND, at a time and place of our choosing, to their Iranian terror masters,” Netanyahu said on X.

In a separate video issued by his office, Netanyahu said: “We will do what we need to do to take care of our security, to respond effectively, and to give Iran due warning that this cannot continue.”

Houthis said in a statement later on Sunday that they would impose “a comprehensive aerial blockade” on Israel by repeatedly targeting its airports, in response to Israel expanding its “aggressive” operation in Gaza.

Most attacks from Yemen have been intercepted by Israel’s missile defence systems, though a drone strike hit Tel Aviv last year. Sunday’s missile was the only one of a series launched since March that was not intercepted.

Later on Sunday, the Israeli military concluded an assessment and cited a technical issue with the interceptor launched toward the missile.

“Initial findings reveal no malfunction in the detection procedure, interception systems, or Homefront Command alert mechanisms,” the army added in a statement.

U.S. STRIKES ON HOUTHIS

A Reuters reporter at the airport heard sirens and saw passengers running towards safe rooms.

Several people posted videos showing a plume of black smoke visible behind parked aircraft and airport buildings. Pictures showed a nearby road scattered with dust and debris.

The Israeli ambulance service said eight people were taken to hospital for mild to moderate injuries.

An Israeli police commander, Yair Hetzroni, showed reporters a crater caused by the impact of the missile, which airport authorities said landed beside a road near a Terminal 3 parking lot. The airport lies near the major city of Tel Aviv.

“You can see the scene right behind us here, a hole that opened up with a diameter of tens of metres and also tens of metres deep,” Hetzroni said, adding that there was no significant damage.

Claiming responsibility, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said Israel’s main airport was “no longer safe for air travel.”

The Israel Airports Authority said normal operations had resumed, after reports of air traffic being halted and access routes to the airport being blocked.

However, a string of airlines including Lufthansa, Delta, ITA Airways and Air France said they had cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv, some of which had been scheduled for Monday or Tuesday.

Sunday’s strike came as Israeli ministers were reported to be close to signing off on plans to expand the military operation in Gaza, which resumed in March following a two-month truce, prompting the Houthis to hit Israel with more missiles.

Efforts to revive the ceasefire have faltered, and U.S. President Donald Trump in March ordered large-scale strikes against the Houthis to reduce their capabilities and deter them from targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea. The strikes have killed hundreds of people in Yemen.

“The U.S. military continues its operation against the Houthis, which has included over 1,000 strikes against these terrorists and we will continue to coordinate with the Israeli government through diplomatic channels,” U.S. National Security Council spokesperson James Hewitt said in an email to Reuters. “The Trump administration remains committed to ending the Houthis’ capabilities to hijack freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.”

He did not directly address the airport incident

The Houthis, who control swathes of Yemen, began targeting Israel and Red Sea shipping in late 2023, during the early days of the war between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip.

The war was triggered by Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage. Israel’s offensive on Gaza has killed more than 52,000 Palestinians and destroyed much of the enclave.

(Additional reporting by Menna Alaa El-Din, Jaidaa Taha, Alexander Cornwell, Steven Scheer, Maayan Lubell, Andrea Shalal, Ahmed Tolba and Enas Alashray; Writing by Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Toby Chopra, Helen Popper, Conor Humphries and Rod Nickel)

Privacy Statement

Our Privacy Commitment

TV5 Network Inc. values and respects your privacy. We are committed to safeguarding your personal data in compliance with Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and its implementing rules and regulations.

We have developed a Privacy Policy that adopts and observes appropriate standards for personal data protection. While our Privacy Policy sets out the general principles governing the collection, use, and disclosure of our users’ personal information, our Privacy Commitment seeks to inform you more about TV5’s privacy practices.

Why do we collect your personal information (as applicable)?

We may collect and maintain basic information about you as site user of TV5 sites for the following purposes:

To deliver news and updates on current events, sports, esports and entertainment;
To share livestreams of news and sports events;
To understand our viewers’ needs and preferences;
To meet legal and regulatory requirements; and
To perform other processes or disclosures that are required to comply with pertinent laws, rules, or regulations.

Where do we get your personal information?

There are several ways we collect your personal information.

Information that you personally provided.

Most of the personal information we have are those that you have provided us when you:
- Register to our programs or services;
- Inquired, filed a complaint or requested for our services;
- Took part in our research and surveys; and/or
- Became our Partner, Vendor, Contractor or Supplier.

Information we collect during your engagement with us

We also collect information as you use our products and services, like:
- Viewing our websites;
- Activities that are being tracked by our website cookies;
- Calling our hotline;
- Using our apps, websites, and self-service channels and portals; and/or
- Joining our promos, prize raffles, or rewards and loyalty programs.

Information we collect from other sources

Other means of collection of information may be through:
- Our market research initiatives;
- When you visit and use our websites and mobile application; and
- Subsidiaries, affiliates, and third-party business partners to whom you have given consent to share your information to us.

When do we disclose personal information?

There may be instances when we are required to share the information you provided us. In such cases, we ensure that your personal information will be disclosed on a confidential manner, through secure channels and in compliance with the Data Privacy Act and other privacy laws.

We will never share, rent, or sell your personal information to third parties outside of TV5 except in special cases where you have given consent, and in cases described in our privacy policy.

In some instances, we may be required to disclose your personal information to our agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, business partners and other third-party agencies and service providers as part of our regular business operations and for the provision of our programs and services. This means we might share your information with our service providers, contractors, and professional advisers who help us provide our services.

How we protect your personal information

The integrity, confidentiality, and security of your information is important to us. We have implemented technical, organizational, and physical security measures that are designed to protect your information from unauthorized or fraudulent access, alteration, disclosure, misuse, and other unlawful activities.

We also put in effect the following safeguards:

We keep and protect your information using a secured server behind a firewall, encryption and security controls;
We keep your information only for as long as it is necessary for us to (a) provide the products and services that you avail from us, (b) for our legitimate business purposes, (c) to comply with pertinent laws, and (d) for special cases that will require the exercise or defense of legal claims;
We limit the access to your information only to qualified and authorized personnel who are trained to handle your information with strict confidentiality;
We undergo regular audits and rigorous testing of our infrastructure’s security protocols to ensure your data is always protected;
We promptly notify you and the National Privacy Commission when sensitive personal information that may, under the circumstances, be used to enable identity fraud are reasonably believed to have been acquired by an unauthorized person; and
We let you update your information securely to keep our records accurate.

TV5 will not collect, use, or disclose your personal information for any purpose other than the purpose that you may have given your consent for.

What are your choices?

We make sure that we have your consent to continue to collect, use, and disclose your personal information for the purposes that we have identified. We want you to know that you may object or withdraw your consent and/or edit your consent preferences at any time.

If you wish to have access to the personal information in our custody or if you think that the personal information you provided is incomplete, or otherwise inaccurate, you may get in touch with our Data Protection Officer through the contact details provided below. In some instances, we may request for supporting documents or proof before we effect requested changes.

Data Protection Officer
TV5 Network Inc.
Reliance corner Sheridan Streets
Mandaluyong City
tv5dataprivacy@tv5.com.ph

What happens when there are changes in our Policy?

From time to time, we may update our privacy policy and practices to comply with changes in applicable laws and regulatory requirements, adapt to new technologies and protocols, and align with the best practices of the industry.

You will be provided notices if the changes are significant and, if we are required by law, we will obtain your updated consent.