Plane headed for Tel Aviv loops back as sirens wail

A plane headed for Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv Monday night called off its descent as sirens sounded in the towns surrounding the airport.

The El Al flight from Rhodes, Greece to Tel Aviv turned north and looped back over the Mediterranean. It made a safe landing soon after.

Hamas claimed responsibility for the long-range M75 rocket fired Monday evening that was struck down by the Iron Dome missile defense system.

At least 115 rockets had been fired into Israel on Monday as of 8:30 p.m., with 13 intercepted by Iron Dome, according to the Israeli military.

Hamas rocket fire at the Tel Aviv area Saturday night also caused slight delays to several flights, Channel 10 reported. Hamas fired three rockets that night, two of which were intercepted by Iron Dome, and a third which was allowed to fall in open ground.

When there is rocket fire that requires interception, there has to be “coordination” between the airport and the relevant Iron Dome battery to prevent, “heaven forbid, that an (Iron Dome) intercept rocket would hit a civilian flight,” the TV report said.

Last week, Hamas threatened to target the airport and warned international air carriers to cancel their flights to and from Tel Aviv. The threat was not carried out.

In late July, the US and several European airlines briefly suspended flights to and from Israel after a projectile landed in a town near the airport.