Israeli military says drone launched from Yemen hits airport arrivals hall | Israel-Palestine conflict News

Israeli media report two people are hospitalised after a drone strikes Ramon Airport in the south of the country.

The Israeli military says it is investigating the crash of a drone  launched from Yemen that has struck the arrivals hall at Ramon Airport near the Red Sea city of Eilat.

Airspace above the airport was closed, the Israel Airports Authority had said earlier on Sunday, without providing an immediate reason for the closure.

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The Israeli military said the incident was under review, without providing details on the impact. It did not specify whether the drone had fallen after being intercepted or if it had been a direct hit.

Earlier, the Israeli military said the air force had intercepted three drones launched from Yemen. It said two were “intercepted prior to crossing into Israeli territory” but did not elaborate on the status of the third.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz, citing the Israeli rescue services, reported that two people were lightly wounded in the drone strike. A 63-year-old man was injured by shrapnel, and a 52-year-old woman was injured after she fell. It said emergency workers evacuated them to a hospital in Eilat while others who suffered panic attacks received medical care at the scene.

Israeli Army Radio reported that a preliminary investigation into the damage at the airport indicated the drone had not been spotted by the air force’s detection systems at all.

The airport, located near the resort city of Eilat on the border with Jordan and Egypt, mostly handles domestic flights.

The Houthis in Yemen have been launching missiles and drones thousands of kilometres north towards Israel in what the group says are acts of solidarity with the Palestinians under relentless Israeli fire. It has also been attacking vessels in the Red Sea since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023.

There has been no immediate comment from the Houthis on the drone strike on Ramon Airport.

Israel has bombed Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, including the vital Hodeidah port. Its latest barrage killed senior Houthi officials a week and a half ago, including its prime minister and other cabinet officials. Large numbers of civilians have also been killed in Israeli strikes.

In May, a Houthi missile hit near Israel’s main airport, Ben Gurion International Airport outside Tel Aviv, injuring four people lightly and causing many airlines to cancel their flights to Israel for months. Israel later struck and destroyed the main airport in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.