The air force still has not explained how the Yemen-based Houthis hit Ramon Airport midday on Sunday.
But theories are already abound about how the Yemen-based terror group pulled off one of its first serious hits in over a year.
In May, the Houthis managed to strike with one ballistic missile near Ben Gurion Airport, but the missile still missed the airport itself.
In any event, it got through Israel’s missile shield due to a rare technical failure of the Jewish state’s normally highly reliable missile technology.
The Houthis did kill an Israeli civilian in Tel Aviv in July 2024 with a sophisticated surprise attack strategy that caught Israel with its guard down.
It appears that this latest attack used complex diversion and surprise as well to achieve the Houthis’ goals.
Three other drones intercepted that day, IDF spokesman confirms
An IDF spokesman said the air force intercepted three drones during the day, mostly coming from the Egyptian border side, two of which were destroyed before entering Israel. “Alerts were activated according to policy,” the spokesman said.
Sirens sounded shortly after 2:00 p.m. in several communities near the Egyptian border, including Nitzana, Kadesh Barnea, Khemin, and Be’er Milka. The IDF Home Front Command declared the incident over less than 10 minutes later.
But this declaration of the security event being over may have been the moment where Israel's air defense let its guard down and Yemen slipped additional drones through, one of which struck Ramon Airport.
It is possible that it was a later drone from the Egyptian side also which crisscrossed Israel’s south. Or it would be possible that it came from the Jordan border side of Israel, while attention was all focused on the Egyptian side.
Many of the same air defense units work on those borders simultaneously.
Some southern Israeli officials said that they noticed a major drop in Israeli air defense security infrastructure after the 12-Day War with Iran.
In other words, the strike on Ramon Airport could also have come from a loss of resources and attention from Yemen, given that the "head of the snake," Iran, had been defeated.
In general, Ramon Airport would not have as many defenses as Ben-Gurion since it is a much smaller local airport, and not Israel’s major strategic international hub.
Whatever the reason, if Israel does not take the Houthis seriously and realize that the Yemen terror group can adjust and try to surprise Jerusalem, there could be more similar incidents in the future, and some might even end in a deadlier fashion.