Passengers run in terror as Houthis target Israel airport

ALEXANDER CORNWELL

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A missile fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels landed near Israel's Ben Gurion Airport yesterday, sending a plume of smoke into the air and causing panic among passengers in the terminal building.

The Houthis claimed responsibility for the missile, the group's military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a televised statement.

He repeated a warning to airlines that Israel's main international airport was "no longer safe for air travel".

The Iran-aligned Houthis have recently intensified missile attacks on Israel, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

A senior Israeli police commander, Yair Hetzroni, showed reporters a crater caused by the impact of the missile, which airport authorities said had landed beside a road near a parking lot. "You can see the scene right behind us here, a hole that opened up with a diameter of tens of metres and also tens of metres deep," he said, adding that there was no significant damage.