Yemen’s Houthis Vow to Impose ‘Air Embargo’ on Israel Following Airport Attack

Yemen’s Houthis vowed on Sunday to impose a “comprehensive” air blockade on Israel by targeting its airports in response to Israel expanding its operations in Gaza.

In a statement, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree warned international airlines to suspend flights to Israel to “preserve the safety of their travellers”.

“We will impose the siege by repeatedly targeting Israeli airports, especially [Ben Gurion] International Airport near Tel Aviv,” Saree said.

The decision has come into effect immediately, he added.

The announcement came hours after the Iran-aligned group claimed responsibility for a missile strike on Sunday that hit near Ben Gurion Airport, disrupting international flights and wounding six people

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would respond to the Houthis and Iran, which he claimed was involved in the attack, an accusation Iran has denied.

Most attacks from Yemen have been intercepted by Israel’s missile defence systems, though a drone strike hit Tel Aviv last year. Sunday’s missile was the only one of a series launched since March that was not intercepted.

The Houthis’ Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center, a body set up last year to liaise between Houthi forces and commercial shipping operators, issued the warning about targeting Israeli airports, saying Ben Gurion Airport would be the top target.

The statement attached an email it said was sent to the International Air Transport Association, the global airlines body, and the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization.

Houthi forces called “upon all international airlines to take this announcement into serious consideration … and to cancel all their flights to the airports of the criminal Israeli enemy, in order to safeguard the safety of their aircraft and passengers,” the email said.

Since it ended the ceasefire agreement with Hamas in March, Israeli troops have been carving out wide buffer zones in Gaza, squeezing the 2.3 million population into an ever narrower zone in the centre of the enclave and along the coast and shutting off the entry of aid trucks.

Israel’s cabinet approved plans for an expanded ground offensive in the Gaza Strip on Sunday night and has called up tens of thousands of reservists. Israeli officials say the government aims to “conquer” and occupy the Palestinian territory.

Aid groups have warned the Israeli blockade risks a humanitarian disaster and accuse it of using starvation as a weapon of war.

The Israeli military has laid waste to much of the enclave and so far killed more than 52,500 people, according to the Gaza health ministry.