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The Houthis (Ansar Allah) launched a ballistic missile from Yemen at Israel on July 6, the second such attack in under a week.
In a statement, Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said that Ben Gurion Airport near the city of Tel Aviv in central Israel was targeted with Palestine-2 hypersonic ballistic missile. He claimed that the attack forced millions of Israelis into shelters and halted operations at the international airport.
The Palestine-2 is a two-stage solid-fueled hypersonic missile that appears to be derivative from Iran’s first hypersonic missile Fattah-1. It has a range of over 2,150 kilometers and a top speed equivalent to 16 times the speed of sound, according to the Houthis.
“Our support operations will continue until the aggression on Gaza stops and the siege is lifted,” the spokesman added.
Sirens sounded in the Dead Sea and Judean Desert areas amid the attack. Later, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced that the missile was successfully intercepted by air defenses. No casualties or damage was reported by Hebrew media.
Just six days earlier, the Houthis targeted Ben Gurion, also using a Palestine-2 missile. At the time, the group also announced an attack with three suicide drones on “sensitive targets” in the central city of Tel Aviv and the southern cities of Ashkelon and Eilat. The missile was intercepted by IDF air defenses. As for the drones, it remains unclear if they reached their targets.
Since March 18, when the IDF resumed its offensive against Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis have launched around 50 ballistic missiles and some dozen suicide drones at Israel. While the vast majority of the projectiles were intercepted or fell short, the attacks still disturbed flights to Israel.
At least five waves of Israeli retaliatory strikes targeted infrastructure in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen in recent months, from the ports in al-Hodeidah, to cement factories, power stations and Sanaa International Airport in the Yemeni capital.
The IDF also attempted to assassinate Houthi military chief of staff Muhammad al-Ghamari in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, but failed. However, the Houthis were not deterred.
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