UPDATES WITH HOUTHI CONFIRMATION, REVISES HEADLINE, DECK
By Zein Khalil, Ikram Kouachi and Betul Yilmaz
JERUSALEM / ANKARA (AA) – The Israeli army claimed intercepting three unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from Yemen on Sunday while a fourth fell at Ramon Airport in southern Israel.
In a statement, the Israeli army said three drones were shot down as they were making their way from Yemen.
An additional UAV was launched from Yemen and fell in the area of Ramon Airport in southern Israel, the army said.
Israel’s public broadcaster KAN said that the strike fell into the passenger hall at the airport, lightly injuring two people.
Flight operations were temporarily suspended at the airport following the strike.
The Yemeni Houthi group confirmed the attack, saying that eight drones were launched on several Israeli targets, including Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, Ramon Airport and two military targets in Negev in the south.
The Houthis have intensified missile and drone strikes on Israel since Israeli forces resumed attacks on the Gaza Strip in March after a two-month ceasefire.
On Aug. 28, an Israeli airstrike in the Yemeni capital Sanaa killed 12 top Houthi officials, including Prime Minister Ahmed Ghalib Al-Rahawi and nine other ministers.
Since November 2023, the group has targeted commercial shipping in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Arabian Sea in support of Palestinians in Gaza, where nearly 64,400 victims have been killed in an Israeli genocide.