UPDATE - Yemen's Houthis announce firing missile towards Israel's Ben Gurion Airport

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS, CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK

By Ahmed Asmar

The Yemeni Houthi group on Friday announced firing a missile towards Ben Gurion Airport in central Israel, halting operations at the airport.

A Houthi military statement said the group's Rocket Force targeted Ben Gurion Airport with a ballistic hypersonic missile and caused a halt of the operations at the airport for nearly one hour.

Earlier, the Israeli army claimed to have intercepted a missile fired from Yemen through its air defense systems.

Israeli media, including the Times of Israel news portal, reported that air-raid sirens were sounded in several areas across central Israel, with people receiving early warning mobile messages about the missile attack.

It added that the flight activity and operations at the Ben Gurion Airport, Israel's main airport, were halted at the time of the missile launch and resumed later.

The news portal noted that the Yemeni missile was intercepted by Israel's Arrow Long-range air defense system after the American THAAD air defense system had missed it.

There were no reports of injuries or damage from the missile attack, according to a military statement.

According to Israeli media, the Houthi group has launched 28 ballistic missiles and dozens of drones at Israel since March 18, when Israel resumed its genocidal war on Gaza.