In the wake of the unprecedented Sunday direct hit on Israel's Ben Gurion international airport by a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis of Yemen, Israeli leadership has vowed to hit back hard. "The attack on Ben Gurion Airport has removed all restrictions from our perspective," Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has stated. He emphasized, "Whoever harms us will be harmed sevenfold" - amid an emergency meeting of Israel's security cabinet. Al Jazeera and regional media say that response has come on Monday. There are reports that 30 Israeli jets are bombing Yemen's main port, along with US military assistance:
Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem has reported that Houthi-affiliated media has said a total of nine sites have been hit in Hodeidah.
Israeli media has reported both at least 30 Israeli fighter jets were involved in strikes on Yemen, which come a day after the Houthis attacked the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, with a missile landing near the facility.
A senior US official has said the raids were being carried out in coordination with the US. Al Jazeera could not immediately confirm that information
Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said late Sunday the Israeli army was preparing for a wide-scale military response, also as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called out Iran for giving support to the Ansarallah movement (Houthis).
"We, along with the entire world, are under threat from the Houthis. We will not tolerate it and will take very strong retaliatory action against them," Netanyahu told Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, who is currently in Israel on an official visit.
A readout continued, "We will always remember that they acted under the orders and with the support of their patron — Iran." The prime minister stated further, "We will do what needs to be done to deliver a proper warning to Iran that we cannot tolerate such acts."
Over the weekend Netanyahu also posted to X a prior warning from President Trump which stated, "Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN, and IRAN will be held responsible, and suffer the consequences, and those consequences will be dire!"
Crucially, Israeli media reports citing military officials confirmed that the US-supplied THAAD missile as well as the Arrow defense system failed to intercept the inbound ballistic missile. Israel's defenses tend to be most effective for the type of shorter-range missiles launched by Hamas and Hezbollah.
Social media images showed the missile impact on the airport grounds Sunday...
At least six bystanders were injured - some hit be debris ejected from the site - but none of them seriously. The projectile hit beside a road near a Terminal 3 parking lot, and opened a diameter in the ground of tens of meters wide as well as tens of meters deep.
Netanyahu is under pressure to respond in a big way. For many months the Houthis have already been firing heavy missiles on Israel, but they typically fall harmlessly into the open desert, or are shot down by Israeli defenses.
Israel has at times sent fighter jets to bombard Yemeni cities in the recent past, including the vital port of Hodeidah, but this along with the more sustained American-led campaign has done nothing to deter the Shia fighters. The Houthis have vowed to keep up their blockade of Red Sea shipping, and attacks on Israel, until the occupation of Gaza ends.
Until now, Israel has let the United States lead the way in terms of retaliation against the Houthis; however, it could be preparing to join the US-led anti-Houthi coalition on a more permanent basis in the Red Sea theatre.
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