On Sep. 7, 2025, a drone launched by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement struck near Ramon International Airport in southern Israel, briefly closing the airspace and injuring one person, the Israeli military said.
Key Takeaways
- The Israeli military confirmed a drone impact close to Ramon International Airport (near Eilat) on Sep. 7, 2025, and ordered a temporary airspace shutdown.
- Emergency services responded on site; one person was reported injured and smoke was visible near the terminal.
- Israeli forces said several drones were intercepted outside national airspace; at least one breached defences and hit near the airport.
- The incident follows near-daily Houthi attacks on Israel since the regional escalation and comes about two weeks after an Israeli strike on Sanaa that killed Houthi prime minister Ahmed al-Rahawi.
- The episode occurred as Israel intensified operations in Gaza, where mass evacuations were ordered amid warnings from aid agencies about worsening humanitarian conditions for nearly one million displaced people.
Verified Facts
The Israeli military publicly reported the strike and the temporary closure of southern airspace on Sep. 7, 2025. Officials said air defences intercepted multiple drones before they reached Israeli territory, but at least one impacted near the Ramon airport area outside Eilat.
Local emergency teams were shown responding to the scene; footage released by media outlets and officials showed smoke near the airport perimeter and first responders treating an injured person. The military did not publicly report fatalities linked to this incident.
Two weeks earlier, Israeli strikes on Sanaa, the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital, killed the movement’s prime minister Ahmed al-Rahawi. The Houthis had publicly vowed retaliation and have launched missiles and cluster munitions in recent weeks; most have caused limited damage beyond this pattern of attacks.
Concurrently, Israeli operations in Gaza intensified, with orders for mass evacuations of Gaza City ahead of a possible ground offensive. Humanitarian groups have warned that repeated displacement of nearly one million people risks deepening food and medical shortages.
Context & Impact
The strike is part of a broader cycle of regional escalation since exchanges between Israel and Iran-aligned groups intensified. Yemen’s Houthi movement has increased attacks on Israeli targets in response to strikes on Houthi-held areas.
Operationally, the breach near Ramon highlights challenges in defending wide maritime and southern approaches to Israel from low-altitude, long-range drones. Airports and civilian infrastructure remain high-risk targets when hostilities expand across borders.
Immediate impacts included flight suspensions and heightened security checks at southern ports of entry. Longer-term effects could include increased military vigilance, temporary disruptions to tourism in the Eilat region, and diplomatic pressure to de-escalate cross-border strikes.
- Potential aviation ripple effects: flight delays, rerouting, and insurer assessments for regional carriers.
- Humanitarian angle: further strain on aid flows into Gaza amid broader regional tensions.
“We intercepted multiple unmanned aerial vehicles; one struck near Ramon airport. Security forces are responding and the area is secured,”
Israeli military statement (Sep. 7, 2025)
Unconfirmed
- Full technical details of the drone type that struck near Ramon airport remain unverified publicly.
- The extent of any infrastructure damage to Ramon International Airport has not been fully disclosed by authorities.
- Attribution of every intercepted drone to specific launch sites in Yemen has not been independently confirmed.
Bottom Line
The Sep. 7 drone impact near Ramon International Airport underscores how the conflict’s fallout is expanding geographically, affecting civilian travel and raising security risks in southern Israel. Expect heightened military alertness and diplomatic efforts to prevent further cross-border strikes while humanitarian concerns in Gaza continue to mount.