A missile from Yemen halts flights in Israel hours before vote on intensifying Gaza war

BEN-GURION INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Israel — A missile launched by Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen briefly halted flights and commuter traffic at Israel's main international airport on Sunday after the impact on open ground within the perimeter left a plume of smoke and caused panic among passengers.

The Houthis have been striking Israel throughout the war in Gaza in solidarity with Palestinians. The attack on Ben-Gurion International Airport came hours before Israeli Cabinet ministers were set to vote on whether to intensify military operations in the Gaza Strip. The army began calling up thousands of reserves in anticipation of a wider operation, officials said.

This was the first time a missile struck the airport since the war began, though fragments of missiles or interceptors have struck nearby. Israel's military said several attempts to intercept it were unsuccessful. It left a crater in the ground near the airport's access road.

Passengers were heard yelling and scrambling for cover in footage shared by Israeli media. Air raid sirens sounded in multiple parts of Israel.

Police said air, road and rail traffic were halted. Traffic resumed after about an hour, Israel Airports Authority said. Israel's paramedic service Magen David Adom said four people were lightly wounded.

Israeli media said multiple international airlines cancelled flights. The war with Hamas and then Hezbollah in Lebanon had led a wave of airlines to suspend flights to Israel, but they have since returned to prewar levels.

Israel vows to respond

Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said in a video statement that the group fired a hypersonic ballistic missile at the airport.

Houthi rebels have been firing at Israel since the war with Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023. The missiles have mostly been intercepted, although some have penetrated Israel's missile defense systems, causing damage.

Israel has struck back against the rebels in Yemen, and the U.S., Israel's top ally, launched a campaign of strikes in March against them.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed retribution: ''Whoever harms us, we will harm them sevenfold.''

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the U.S. was supporting Israeli operations against the Houthis. ''It's not bang, bang and we're done, but there will be bangs,'' he said in a video posted on social media.

Israeli ministers will vote on expanding Gaza war

An Israeli official said the security Cabinet would meet Sunday evening to vote on plans to expand the fighting in Gaza. A military official said the country was calling up thousands of reserves. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, in an interview with Israeli Army Radio, said he wanted to see a ''powerful'' expansion of the war, but did not disclose details.

''We need to increase the intensity and continue until we achieve total victory,'' he said. He demanded that Israel bomb ''the food and electricity supplies'' in Gaza.

Israel in early March halted the entry of goods into Gaza as part of its efforts to pressure the militant group Hamas to negotiate on Israel's terms for a new ceasefire. That has plunged the territory of 2.3 million people into what is believed to be the worst humanitarian crisis since the war began.

In another confrontation over international efforts to deliver aid to Gaza, the prime minister of Malta, Robert Abela, said his country had offered to send a marine surveyor to look into the damage caused to a ship that was said to be carrying aid and organized by pro-Palestinian activists. Abela said the captain had refused.

The activists said Friday their vessel was struck by drones, blaming Israel, and the ship remained in international waters off Malta. The Israeli military has not commented.

An 8-week-long ceasefire between Israel and Hamas brought a lull in fighting, flooded the territory with aid and freed some Israeli hostages. The truce collapsed in March when Israel resumed strikes on Gaza. It has since captured swaths of the coastal enclave. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed, according to local health officials.

New Israeli airstrikes kill children

At least seven Palestinians, including two parents and their two children, ages 2 and 4, were killed in Israeli airstrikes early Sunday in southern and central Gaza, Palestinian medics said. The Israeli military had no direct comment.

The military said two soldiers were killed in combat in Gaza, bringing the number of soldiers killed since fighting resumed in March to six.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages. Israel says 59 captives remain in Gaza, although about 35 are believed to be dead.

Israel's offensive has killed more than 52,000 people in Gaza, many of them women and children, according to Palestinian health officials, who do not distinguish between combatants and civilians in their count.

The fighting has displaced more than 90% of Gaza's population, often multiple times. Hunger has been widespread and the shortage of food has set off looting.

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Goldenberg reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writers Natalie Melzer in Nahariya, Israel; Samy Magdy in Cairo; Melanie Lidman in Jerusalem and Kevin Schembri in Birkirkara, Malta, contributed to this report.

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Follow AP's war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war