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By Zein Khalil, Betul Yilmaz and Mohammad Sio
JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL (AA) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Nikos Christodoulides, the leader of the Greek Cypriot Administration, in occupied Jerusalem on Sunday, reiterating the threat to carry out military attacks in Yemen and reaffirming his commitment to continuing the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
“I told him (Christodoulides): We're being challenged, the whole world is being challenged by the Houthis, including in the dastardly attack they did today near Ben-Gurion (Tel Aviv) airport,” Netanyahu said, according to a statement from his office.
“We will not tolerate it. We will take very strong action against them. And we always remember that they act with their patron Iran's direction and support,” the statement added.
The remarks came hours after Yemen’s Houthi movement fired a ballistic missile at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, in response to Israel’s ongoing military genocide in Gaza.
It was the first time Israel publicly acknowledged that a missile from Yemen had landed near the airport. The impact injured seven people and halted air traffic for about an hour, forcing several international airlines to suspend flights to Tel Aviv.
During the meeting, Netanyahu also pressed for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
“The release of the hostages and repatriation of the living and those who are not living back in Israel is a number one requirement from international, from morality, from common sense,” he told Christodoulides.
Israel estimates that 59 of its hostages are being held in Gaza, including 24 believed to be alive.
Meanwhile, over 9,900 Palestinians remain imprisoned in Israeli jails, where they face torture, starvation, and medical neglect, according to reports from Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations.
Reaffirming his stance on the genocide in Gaza, Netanyahu declared: “We will not stop fighting until the last hostage returns home.”
Christodoulides arrived in Tel Aviv after a delay on Sunday due to the suspension of flights at Ben Gurion Airport following the Houthi missile attack, Israeli media said.
Israel’s emergency service, Magen David Adom, reported that “several people sustained minor injuries due to a missile falling near Terminal 3 at Ben Gurion Airport.”
Israeli media said that six international airlines suspended their flights to Tel Aviv following the Houthi attack.
Christodoulies’ visit came amid Israel’s ongoing onslaught in Gaza, where over 52,500 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, most of them women and children.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.