Houthi rebels claim they fired a ballistic missile at Tel Aviv airport as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was landing back in Israel – and just hours after a series of devastating airstrikes on Beirut resulted in the death of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
Air raid sirens sounded across central Israel on Saturday afternoon, including in Tel Aviv, and large explosions were heard after a missile was fired from Yemen and intercepted, the Israeli military said.
Yemen’s Houthi militants said later that they fired a ballistic missile at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv.
They said the attack was timed to coincide with the arrival of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who returned to the country on Saturday after addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Friday.
There has been no news of damage or casualties caused by the missile.
Houthi rebels claim they fired a ballistic missile at Tel Aviv airport as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was landing back in Israel after a short visit to New York
Yemen’s Houthi militants shared a message on X that they fired a ballistic missile at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, just at the moment that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was landing
Netanyahu was in the United States on Friday to address the UN General Assembly.
Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a statement: ‘The operation was carried out with a Palestine 2 ballistic missile.
‘The Yemeni armed forces – along with all the honourable and free people of the nation – continue to respond to the crimes of the Israeli enemy, and will not hesitate to raise the level of escalation in response to the requirements of the stage and participate in the defence of Gaza and Lebanon.
‘These operations will cease only after the cessation of the aggression against Gaza and Lebanon.’
The action came as Iran’s supreme leader chillingly vowed the killing of Hezbollah boss Hassan Nasrallah and a senior Iranian commander ‘shall not go unavenged’.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is thought to have been moved to a secure location, said on Saturday that Nasrallah would be avenged and his path in fighting Israel would be continued by other militants, as he announced five days of mourning in Iran.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei chillingly vowed the killing of Hezbollah boss Hassan Nasrallah and a senior Iranian commander ‘shall not go unavenged’
Israel killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah (pictured in 2015) in strikes on Beirut last night
Hassan Nasrallah spoke to the world in front of a red screen last Thursday, insisting that the deadly attacks ‘deserve a response’ before launching salvoes of rockets towards Israel
‘(Nasrallah) was not an individual. He was a path and a school of thought and the path will be continued,’ Ayatollah Khamenei said in a statement read on state television.
‘The blood of the martyr shall not go unavenged,’ he said.
But on Saturday night, Netanyahu gave an address in which he stood by Israel’s action in Lebanon, adding ‘we are at a historic turning point’.
He also described Nasrallah as ‘the arc murderer’ and ‘the main engine of Iran’s axis of evil’.
Netanyahu said: ‘If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first. The state of Israel killed yesterday Hassan Nasrallah, the arc murderer.
‘We settled the score with the person who is responsible for the killing and assassination of so many Israelis and people of other nationalities, including dozens of Americans and French people.
‘He wasn’t just another terrorist – he was “the” terrorist; he was the main engine of Iran’s axis of evil.
‘Him and his people were the architects of a plan to destroy Israel.
‘He wasn’t only operated by Iran, in many case he operated Iran.’
The Israeli premier went on to say that the devastating blows levelled at Hezbollah by the IDF’ proved not to be ‘enough’ and that taking out Nasrallah became a necessity.
‘The elimination of Nasrallah is a necessary condition for the fulfilment of our goals and bringing an equilibrium to our regions,’ he said.
‘I gave the instruction, and he is no longer with us.
‘All those who oppose [Iran], all these people today have hope.
‘There is no place in Iran nor the middle east where the long arm of Israel cannot reach.’
Addressing his nation, Netanyahu remained unrepentant and urged Israelis to understand that Israel will ‘continue to strike our enemies’ while continuing to press for the release of the more than 100 hostages remaining in Gaza.
He said: ‘Citizens of Israel we are at a turning point, a historic turning point. A year ago on October 7 our enemies attacked us and thought Israel was about to be annihilated – a year later blow after blow, achievement after achievement they now understand just how much they dissipated.
‘We are winning and will continue to strike our enemies to send our citizens and our people back to their homes and bring back all of the hostages.
‘We did not forget them [hostages] for one minute.
‘Together we will fight and god willing together we will win.’
Elsewhere, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he had spoken with Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Saturday, following an Israeli airstrike on Beirut which killed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
‘We agreed on the need for an immediate ceasefire to bring an end to the bloodshed.
‘A diplomatic solution is the only way to restore security and stability for the Lebanese and Israeli people,’ Lammy said.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, pictured at the UN Security Council meeting in New York this week, said he had spoken with Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Saturday