AFP, TEL AVIV

A missile landed inside the perimeter of Israel’s main airport yesterday, wounding six people, halting flights and gouging a wide crater, in an attack claimed by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

The Israeli military said “several attempts were made to intercept” the missile that was launched from Yemen, a rare Houthi attack that penetrated Israel’s air defences.

A video issued by Israel’s police force showed officers standing on the edge of a deep crater with the control tower visible in the distance behind them. No damage was reported to airport buildings or runways.

The police reported a “missile impact” at Ben Gurion airport, Israel’s main international gateway. An AFP photographer said the missile hit near the parking lots of Terminal 3, the airport’s largest, with the crater less than a kilometre (0.6 miles) away from the closest tarmac. Germany’s Lufthansa, Air India suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv until May 6.

The armed wing of Palestinian group Hamas praised the missile attack.

“Yemen... escalates its attacks on the heart of the illegitimate Zionist entity, surpassing the most advanced defence systems in the world and striking its targets with precision,” Abu Obeida, spokesman for the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Gaza’s civil defence