SANAA - Yemen's Houthis announced on Sunday that the group had launched a hypersonic ballistic missile toward Ben Gurion Airport in central Israel, which was reportedly intercepted by Israeli defense systems earlier in the day.

"The rocket forces carried out a qualitative military operation targeting Ben Gurion Airport, using a hypersonic ballistic missile," Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement broadcast by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.

Sarea said the group would "continue enforcing a ban on air traffic to and from Ben Gurion Airport," referring to repeated Houthi attacks that have prompted several airlines to delay or reroute flights to avoid rocket strikes targeting Israel.

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He noted that the Houthis would escalate their military operations further unless Israel halts its assault on the Gaza Strip and lifts the blockade.

Earlier in the day, the Israeli defense forces wrote on social media platform X that sirens had sounded across Israel following a "projectile" fired from Yemen. Israeli army radio later confirmed that the projectile had been intercepted. No casualties or damage were reported.

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Since November 2023, the Houthi group, which controls much of northern Yemen, has been targeting Israel and Israeli-linked ships transiting the Red Sea to show solidarity with Palestinians amid the ongoing war in Gaza.