On Sunday, May 4, a missile fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels landed near Israel's main international airport, Ben Gurion Airport, causing panic among passengers and prompting retaliatory threats against the Houthis and Iran. The Houthis, backed by Iran, claimed responsibility for the attack, stating it was in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate against both the Houthi rebels and their Iranian supporters.

Netanyahu warned that Israel would respond to the Houthi strike on its main airport and would take action against Iran at a time and place of its choosing. The Houthis later announced plans to impose a "comprehensive aerial blockade" on Israel by repeatedly targeting its airports, in retaliation for Israel's escalating operations in Gaza.

Though most attacks from Yemen are intercepted by Israel's missile defense systems, this missile was the only one in a series launched since March that was not intercepted. The Israeli military later attributed the failure to a technical issue with the interceptor missile, while other systems had not malfunctioned.

At the airport, sirens were heard, and passengers rushed to safe rooms. Videos showed black smoke behind parked planes, with debris scattered across a nearby road. Eight people were injured and taken to the hospital with mild to moderate injuries. Israeli police showed reporters the impact crater, which was located near the Terminal 3 parking lot. Despite the attack, the Israeli Airports Authority reported that airport operations had resumed, though several airlines canceled flights to and from Tel Aviv.

This attack occurred as Israeli officials were preparing to expand their military operations in Gaza, which resumed in March after a two-month ceasefire. In response, the Houthis launched more missile strikes against Israel. The US has also been conducting military strikes against the Houthis to weaken their capabilities, with over 1,000 strikes aimed at reducing their threat to shipping in the Red Sea.