On Sunday Yemen’s Houthis (Ansarallah movement) launched another ballistic missile on Israel – but this time instead of the projectile landing in the desert or being intercepted, as with most prior such launches – the Houthis scored a direct hit on Israel’s major international airport in Tel Aviv.

“A ballistic missile fired by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen impacted on the grounds of Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday morning, injuring six people, none of them seriously,” Times of Israel confirms. “The blast occurred in a grove of trees alongside an access road close to the airport’s main Terminal 3, several hundred yards from the airport control tower.”

The military said there were several failed efforts to intercept the missile as it was inbound. “An impact was identified in the area of Ben Gurion Airport,” an IDF statement said.

The US-supplied THAAD missile as well as the Arrow defense system failed to intercept the ballistic missile. Israel’s defenses tend to be most effective for the type of shorter-range missiles launched by Hamas and Hezbollah.

Video taken from near the blast site at moment of impact on the airport:

אזעקה ואז פיצוץ אדיר: “וואו איזה בום” | תיעוד חדש מהנפילה בנתב”גhttps://t.co/bQeqHjLptK pic.twitter.com/cQOwt9rlmi

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) May 4, 2025

While over the course of the Gaza war Houthi missiles have impacted in the vicinity of Tel Aviv and central Israel, this was the first time that grounds within the international airport have ever been hit.

Emergency authorities identified “a man in his 50s in good-to-moderate condition with trauma to his limbs and two women, aged 54 and 38, in good condition who were hit by the shockwave.”

Additionally an elderly person was hit with an object that was ejected from the impact site, while two younger women were injured while running for shelter amid the blast. Others were reportedly treated for acute anxiety.

The Houthis successfully landed a ballistic missile at Israel’s main airport.

A few Israeli civilians were injured.

Israel’s response should be unprecedented.pic.twitter.com/7gVIjyRdJn

— Vivid.🇮🇱 (@VividProwess) May 4, 2025

There were reportedly at least 40 flights disrupted for international flights, mainly due to disrupted landings and inbound planes being turned around. An update by Al Jazeera details:

A data analysis conducted by Al Jazeera’s fact-checking agency Sanad shows more than 40 cases of disrupted landings for international flights at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv because of the Houthi missile strikes.

The disruptions tracked were ones occurring since Israel’s renewed escalation of war on Gaza beginning in late March. The analysis relied on aviation data provided by the specialized flight tracking website Flight Radar.

Sanad cross-referenced the timing of Houthi missile strikes with the activation times of alarm sirens at Ben Gurion Airport. It then analysed aviation records to determine the exact number of flight delays caused by the incidents.

Airport surveillance footage also captured the impact:

Surveillance camera footage shows the moment of the Houthi missile impact at Ben Gurion Airport.

The missile struck a grove adjacent to an access road, within the airport’s perimeter. pic.twitter.com/AUyQwKrEOy

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) May 4, 2025

Pressure is likely to increase on Iran over the attack, given the Trump administration has alleged Tehran is behind basically all Houthi decision-making, which Iranian leaders have vehemently denied.

Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh on Sunday has warned Tehran will strike back if the United States or Israel attack the Islamic Republic. “If this war is initiated by the US or the Zionist regime [Israel], Iran will target their interests, bases and forces – wherever they may be and whenever deemed necessary,” Nasirzadeh told a state broadcaster. “The countries in the region are our brothers, but America’s bases are our targets,” he added.