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A Houthi drone hit Ramon Airport

omrif — Sun, 07 Sep 2025 14:45:08 +0000

A drone exploded Sunday at Ramon Airport in the Arava in southern Israel, without any alerts being triggered.

According to reports, the drone crashed inside the terminal between the departures and arrivals halls. The drone's engine was still found inside the building. Windows were shattered by the blast, with glass shards injuring one of those present at the airport. The IDF is investigating the incident.

Magen David Adom said its medics and paramedics were providing treatment and evacuating eight people to Yoseftal Hospital. Among them were a 63-year-old man, fully conscious and in mild condition after being hit by shrapnel in his limbs; a 52-year-old woman in mild condition who fell and injured her limbs; two men, aged 63 and 28, and a 24-year-old woman, all in mild condition suffering from tinnitus and blast trauma; and three people suffering from anxiety.

Video: A Houthi drone hit Ramon Airport

The Houthis in Yemen claimed responsibility for the attack and threatened, "The real revenge has not yet begun."

Windows were shattered at Ramon Airport

Over the past week, the Israeli Air Force intercepted five drones and two surface-to-surface missiles launched from Yemen. In recent months, dozens of drones and surface-to-surface missiles fired from Yemen have been successfully intercepted.

About an hour before the attack, three drones launched from Yemen on were detected over the Sinai Peninsula on their way to Israel. the drones were intercepted by the IDF.

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Israeli firm Emtan to provide Spanish police with thousands of pistols

Oren Klass — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 06:13:43 +0000

Israeli small arms manufacturer Emtan and Spanish company Guardian Defense & Homeland Security, which is owned by Israelis, have signed a contract to provide 9,120 nine-millimeter pistols to the Spanish Federal Police. The deal is worth an estimated several million euros.

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This is the first time that an Israeli company has won a light arms deal from a Western European country.

The Ramon pistols are manufactured by Emtan, which was founded in 1977 and develops, manufactures and sells light arms including pistols, submachine guns and rifles to law enforcement agencies around the globe. The company has been awarded numerous government tenders worldwide and from Israel.

Guardian Defense & Homeland Security was founded in 2006 by Ilan Arzooan and Ariel Mazuz, both former officers in the Israeli security forces. Investors include Maj. Gen. (res.) Yom-Tov Samia, a former GOC Southern Command, who is a senior partner, and Moni Liman.

Emtan owner and CEO Reuven Zada said, "We are proud and honored that the Spanish Federal Police have chosen the Ramon pistol. Emtan provides a major emphasis on planning, materials and the reliability of the weapons it manufactures and we also see major interest from government bodies in Europe and other countries."

Samia said: "Europe in general and Spain, in particular, have a strong industry for manufacturing defense and security products and usually [tenders] of this magnitude are granted to the local industry. Despite the entry obstacles and complex bureaucracy, we at Guardian managed to establish ourselves in the Spanish and Portuguese security industry as leaders in the field for the past 15 years."

The win, according to the Defensa website, came after a "series of rigorous technical tests of 9x19mm pistols under consideration for the tender including the Glock 19 Generation 5/FS, the Beretta APX Centurion, the AREX Delta M Gen.2 SP, and the Heckler and Koch HK SFP9 S. The Ramon pistol won first place with a result of 38 points out of 40, with the Glock in second place with 28 points and the HK SFP9 S in third place with only 22 points."

However, the report added, even the price for each pistol was an important factor in the choice. The HK was offered for 385 euros while the Glock was offered for 306 euros, and the Ramon was offered for 269 euros.

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NASA honors Columbia crew including Israeli astronaut

website — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 22:00:00 +0000

NASA honored the astronauts killed aboard shuttle Columbia 15 years ago, with a special musical tribute Thursday by the son of Israel's first astronaut.

Seven astronauts – including Israeli Air Force Col. (res.) Ilan Ramon – were killed on Feb. 1, 2003, when the Columbia shattered in the skies over Texas, just minutes before a Florida touchdown.

A NASA investigation found that a piece of foam installation on the shuttle's external tank had broken off, compromising its structural integrity and causing it to break apart as it re-entered the atmosphere.

Singer-songwriter Tal Ramon joined a few hundred others at Kennedy Space Center to remember the Columbia crew and other astronauts killed in the line of duty over the decades.

Ramon performed two of his own songs, singing in Hebrew and playing the keyboard. Later, he and relatives of other astronauts killed in the mission placed long-stemmed, yellow, orange and pink roses at the Space Mirror Memorial. In all, 24 names are engraved in the large granite monument.

"I'm just so emotional to be here with you," Ramon told the crowd before performing at the memorial.

It was also difficult for forest ranger Gregory Cohrs, who was among the first on the accident scene in Hemphill, Texas. Cohrs worked for three months scouring the area for shuttle debris and the astronauts' remains. He now serves at Kisatchie National Forest in Louisiana.

"It was really important for us to bring the crew home to their families. So we're really thankful to have been able to do that," he told The Associated Press.

NASA's held its annual day of remembrance Thursday to honor all its astronauts killed in the line of duty. Seventeen died in three accidents: Columbia, the Apollo 1 fire on the launch pad on Jan. 27, 1967, and the shuttle Challenger launch disaster on Jan. 28, 1986. The seven others died in plane crashes during training or other official business.

NASA's acting administrator, Robert Lightfoot, led observances at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, where several of these astronauts are buried.

At Kennedy, NASA's first female space shuttle commander, Eileen Collins, now retired and board chairman of the Astronauts Memorial Foundation, noted next Wednesday will mark the 60th anniversary of the liftoff of America's first satellite. Explorer 1 launched on Jan. 31, 1958, right as NASA's seven original Mercury astronauts had begun training for their space flights. "They still inspire us today," she said.

Among those attending the Kennedy tribute were family members of four early astronauts killed in plane crashes in the 1960s: Charles Bassett II, Elliot See Jr., Clifton Williams Jr. and Michael Adams, who reached the edge of space in his X-15.

Also on hand were Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin, as well as former shuttle astronauts and launch directors. The son of Columbia pilot Willie McCool – Christopher McCool – was there, too. But it was Ramon who addressed the crowd on behalf of the Columbia families.

Ramon recalled how his father's spaceflight was "a huge thing" not only in Israel, but the United States as well. He shared how his father's mother was a Holocaust survivor and piano teacher, and how his father could play the piano. His own musical journey began after his father's death, when he returned to Israel and his father's Steinway piano.

He performed the title song from his album "Character" – "Dmut" in Hebrew – which is dedicated to his father and older brother Assaf, a pilot in the Israeli Air Force who died in a jet crash in 2009. His second selection, an instrumental piece, was "Victory."

"Even with big tragedy, we believe that there's such a big victory that we are here today to share their stories," he said.

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