IDF says drone that hit southern airport was erroneously not classified as a threat

An Israeli Air Force investigation into today’s Houthi drone attack on Ramon Airport in southern Israel has found that the aircraft was detected by radar, but it was not classified as a threat by air defense troops.

As a result, no sirens sounded, no attempts were made to shoot it down, and the drone ultimately struck the airport, causing damage and lightly injuring one person.

The military says that there is “no indication of technical malfunction in the existing detection systems,” and the failure to shoot down the drone was solely a result of it not being classified as a threat, due to human error.

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Moments before the impact at Ramon Airport, three other drones from Yemen were shot down over the border with Egypt.

The IDF says the fourth drone that hit Ramon was not different from those shot down previously, and does not represent a new threat.

IAF chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar is set to conduct a more in-depth probe into the drone attack later, the military adds.

A similar case happened in July 2024, when a Houthi drone was identified but not classified as a threat and struck a building in Tel Aviv, killing a man.

The military says that the Houthis have launched over 150 drones at Israel since the beginning of the war, 98% of which have been intercepted.