Israel’s Ramon Airport near the Red Sea city of Eilat has resumed operations after being briefly shut when a drone launched from Yemen struck the arrivals hall, Israel’s Airports Authority have said.
Takeoffs and landings at the airport were halted for around two hours on Sunday as the Israeli military said it was investigating the crash of a drone that was launched from Yemen and fell in the area of the airport.
“Following the completion of all safety and security checks, compliance with international civil aviation standards, and receipt of final approval from the Air Force – Ramon Airport has now been reopened for full operations, for both departures and arrivals,” the authority said in a statement.
“The first flight from Ramon to Ben Gurion Airport (near Tel Aviv) is expected to depart shortly.”
Earlier, the Israeli military said the air force had intercepted three drones launched from Yemen. It said two were “intercepted prior to crossing into Israeli territory” but did not elaborate on the status of the third.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz, citing the Israeli rescue services, reported that two people were lightly wounded in the drone strike. A 63-year-old man was injured by shrapnel, and a 52-year-old woman was injured after she fell. It said emergency workers evacuated them to a hospital in Eilat, while others who suffered panic attacks received medical care at the scene.
Israeli Army Radio reported that a preliminary investigation into the damage at the airport indicated the drone had not been spotted by the air force’s detection systems at all.
A warship in Eilat, Israel [File: Ohad Zwigenberg/AP]
The airport, located near the resort city of Eilat on the border with Jordan and Egypt, mostly handles domestic flights.
The Houthis in Yemen have been launching missiles and drones thousands of kilometres north towards Israel in what the group says are acts of solidarity with the Palestinians under relentless Israeli fire. It has also been attacking vessels in the Red Sea since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023.
There has been no immediate comment from the Houthis on the drone strike on Ramon Airport.
Israel has bombed Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, including the vital Hodeidah port. Its latest barrage killed senior Houthi officials a week and a half ago, including its prime minister and other cabinet officials. Large numbers of civilians have also been killed in Israeli strikes.
In May, a Houthi missile hit near Israel’s main airport, Ben Gurion International Airport outside Tel Aviv, injuring four people lightly and causing many airlines to cancel their flights to Israel for months. Israel later struck and destroyed the main airport in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.
