The ballistic missile launched on Sunday morning by the Houthis from Yemen towards Israel evaded two layers of advanced aerial defense systems and fell in a field near Terminal 3 near Ben Gurion Airport.

The first interception was carried out using an interceptor from the Israeli Arrow 3 long-range air defense, but it failed to hit the target. Another interceptor was launched from the American THAAD system.

According to senior officials in Israel, the missile that hit Ben Gurion was not a new or particularly advanced missile, but a known model that has been intercepted in the past.

The IDF is conducting an investigation to examine the incident, including an assessment of whether the interception failure was due to a technical malfunction or human error.

According to reports, the IDF is also examining the decision not to launch a second interceptor from the Arrow system. It is possible that the decision was influenced by the high cost of each interceptor missile – about $4 million.

Defense officials emphasized that the success rates of Israel’s defense systems, especially Arrow 3, are very high, but no system is successful in every scenario.

The incident raises renewed questions about Israeli readiness against ballistic fire from distant sectors, especially in times of multi-arena warfare.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)