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IDF says projectile launched by Iran-backed group intercepted before crossing border; Houthi media says US attacked airport in port city of Hodeida
Houthi supporters chant slogans during an anti-US and anti-Israel rally in Sanaa, Yemen, March 17, 2025. (AP/Osamah Abdulrahman)
A ballistic missile fired at Israel by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen on Sunday morning was successfully intercepted by air defenses, the military said.
There were no reports of injuries or damage in the attack, which triggered sirens across central Israel. The IDF said the missile was shot down before crossing the country’s borders.
It was the fifth Houthi attack on Israel since the Israel Defense Forces began its renewed offensive against Hamas in Gaza on Tuesday.
Al-Masirah TV, blaming “American aggression,” said three attacks had targeted the airport in Hodeida on the Red Sea coast.
Locals inspect a site reportedly struck by US airstrikes overnight in Sanaa, Yemen, March 20, 2025. (AP)
On March 15, the US announced a wave of airstrikes that officials said killed senior Houthi leaders, and which the rebels’ health authorities said killed 53 people.
The strikes, the first since Trump resumed office, came after the group threatened to renew attacks on Israeli shipping.
The missiles have all been intercepted by Israeli air defenses or fallen short of reaching Israel, but have nevertheless sent much of the country scrambling to shelters.
On Saturday, a ballistic missile launched from Yemen, apparently aimed at Israel, was said by a defense source to have fallen short in Saudi Arabia.
The military identified the missile, but sirens were not activated in Israel due to it not posing a threat. It was not immediately clear why the missile had failed to reach Israel or if it was even aimed at Israel.
Supporters of Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels brandish rifles and chant during a demonstration against US airstrikes, in Sanaa, Yemen, March 17, 2025. (Mohammed Huwais / AFP)
Citing an Israeli official, the Ynet news site reported on Thursday that Washington had asked Israel not to respond to the Houthis’ latest missile attacks. According to the report, the US told Israel to “let them deal with it.”
The strikes on the Houthis are the most significant American military operation in the Middle East since Trump took office. Trump has said he would hold Iran responsible for the Houthi strikes.
This grab from footage shared by the US Central Command on March 15, 2025 shows a US F/A-18 Super Hornet attack fighter jet taking off from the US Navy’s USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier in the Red Sea reportedly amidst operations launched against Houthis in Yemen (DVIDS / AFP)
The Houthis began attacking the vital Red Sea maritime route in November 2023, a month after fellow Iran-backed group Hamas stormed southern Israel on October 7, 2023, to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.
While the Houthis have said they were attacking Israeli-linked shipping in support of Gaza, they have also targeted vessels with no known Israeli connections.
The Houthis — whose slogan is “Death to America, death to Israel, a curse upon the Jews” — paused their attacks after Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire and hostage deal in January.
Israelis take cover inside a bomb shelter at Ben Gurion airport as a siren alert is sounded in Tel Aviv, October 1, 2024. (Flash90/Dor Pazuelo)
The Houthis officially announced an aerial blockade of Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, saying that they would continue firing missiles at the airport until the IDF withdraws from the Gaza Strip.
Ben Gurion Airport, near Tel Aviv, is Israel’s largest airport and the central hub for international flights arriving to and departing from the Jewish State.
“After the success of our Yemeni Armed Forces in cutting off Israeli shipping in the Red Sea, a blockade is imposed on Ben Gurion Airport in occupied Palestine,” the Houthis wrote on X.
“Please take the decision of the Yemeni Armed Forces seriously, as Ben Gurion Airport is no longer safe until the aggression on Gaza stops,” the statement read.
The Houthis explicitly warned major international carriers, including United Airlines, easyJet, British Airways, Air France, and Turkish Airlines, against flying to Israel.
Ben Gurion Airport has been repeatedly forced to ground flights in recent days due to incoming Houthi missile fire.
On Saturday, the Houthis said they had targeted the airport three times in two days.
On Sunday morning, sirens wailed throughout central Israel, including in the area of the airport, due to missile fire from Yemen.
That launch, which would be the fourth since last week, was presumed to also have been targeting the airport.
All of the recent missile launches were successfully intercepted by the Israeli Air Force.
Shrapnel and debris from the interceptions were reportedly found in the Tel Aviv suburb of Rishon LeZion and in the Hebron area.
President Donald Trump has stepped up the American response to Houthi attacks on U.S. regional assets and shipping, launching massive airstrikes on Yemen in recent days.
However, despite the intensity of the bombings, the Houthis have continued attacking American naval ships in the Red Sea.
Since the end of the Gaza ceasefire last week, the Houthis have launched missiles at Israel on a daily basis.
