Tel Aviv’s main Airport came under sustained rocket fire on Tuesday night as Hamas militants fired volleys of rockets from Gaza towards Israel’s most populous city. All flight traffic was stopped by aviation authorities at the height of the attack and planes heading to Ben Gurion were diverted out over the Medieterrnean Sea and left to circle while the waited for the airport to reopen.

An unverified video which purports to have been filmed in the secure airside area of Ben Gurion Airport shows Israel’s sophisticated Iron Dome missile defence system intercepting a slew of rockets as they fly close to the airport.

It was not immediately clear whether any rockets managed to evade the Iron Dome system and cause any damage to the airport. There were no reported injuries and limited operations have since restarted.

In another video taken by a passenger at the airport, travellers are seen scrambling for cover as air raid sirens wail in the background warning of an impending rocket attack. An attack on Tel Aviv is seen as a major escalation in the most recent conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already promised to reintensify retaliatory airstrikes on Hamas posts in Gaza that have already claimed scores of lives including children. On Tuesday, Israel reported injuries and at least one death amongst its civilian population as a direct result of the Hamas attack.

Flights that had to be diverted as a result of the rocket attack on Ben Gurion airport included an Iberia operated Airbus A330 aircraft from Madrid. Meanwhile, a flydubai aircraft was forced to circle over the West Bank before finally being cleared to land.

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