Hamas fires rocket at Israel's second airport near Eilat
Hamas said on Thursday it fired a rocket towards Israel's Ramon Airport near the Red Sea resort of Eilat, but there were no immediate reports of sirens going off nor an impact in the area.
- Middle East
- AFP
- Published Date: 04:07 | 13 May 2021
- Modified Date: 04:12 | 13 May 2021
Hamas on Thursday said it fired a large rocket at Israel's Ramon airport near Eilat, where incoming passenger flights were diverted after waves of rocket launches towards the main airport near Tel Aviv.
A spokesman for Hamas' armed wing announced the launch of the 250 kilogram (550 pound) rocket and demanded that "all international airlines immediately halt their flights to any airports" in the Jewish state.
Hamas has fired over 1,600 rockets towards Israel since Monday, with the Israel military saying it struck Gaza targets over 600 times.
Earlier Thursday, Israel's civil aviation authority said it had diverted all incoming passenger flights headed for Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport to Ramon airport, as air raid warnings once more went off across Israel.
International carriers were meanwhile cancelling flights to Israel.
Spokespeople for United Airlines and American Airlines told AFP their flights from the US to Israel had been cancelled "through May 15".
In Gaza, 83 people were reported killed since Monday, with seven killed on the Israeli side.