A ballistic missile launched by Houthi forces in Yemen struck near Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport on Sunday, wounding three civilians and temporarily halting operations at the country’s main aviation hub.
According to Israel’s Magen David Adom (MDA), a 50-year-old man and a 54-year-old woman suffered mild injuries from the blast, while a 32-year-old woman was hurt while attempting to reach shelter. The missile’s impact damaged the access road to Terminal 3.
In a statement, the Israel Airports Authority confirmed that “an investigation is underway regarding the impact at the Ben Gurion Airport area.” All landings and takeoffs were temporarily frozen as a precaution. Normal flight operations resumed after roughly one hour. “Ben Gurion Airport is open for operations,” the authority later said. “Takeoffs and landings have returned to normal.”
Israel’s Army Radio reported that the missile was not intercepted despite multiple attempts.
Israeli Channel 12 said the missile successfully bypassed four layers of air defense, including the high-altitude Arrow 3 and U.S.-supplied THAAD systems, before striking close to the heavily trafficked terminal area.
The launch was detected shortly after it occurred in Yemen, but the short window between detection and impact limited interception options. According to Israeli military sources cited by Channel 12, the missile evaded defensive coverage and reached the airport zone without being neutralized.
This marks one of the closest and most disruptive strikes on Israeli civilian infrastructure since the escalation of regional missile activity tied to the ongoing conflict between Iran-backed groups and Israel.
The Israeli military said an official review is underway to assess the missile’s trajectory, interception failures, and overall defense system response.