
Security at Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport was beefed up on Thursday evening (March 14) after reports of a "serious security incident" emerged near Lod, said Israeli media citing airport authorities.
"Somebody told me snipers were present," the Jerusalem Post quoted Itay Cohen, a photojournalist at the airport as saying.
"When I got off the bus, I saw two security guards with drawn weapons. We got rushed into the building and could not see a thing," Cohen said.
"This incident is extremely unusual," she added.
The incident, as per Israel's Airports Authority, did not disrupt regular airport operations.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday (March 10) said that at least 13,000 "terrorists" were among Palestinians killed during the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
He further vowed to continue with the offensive in the south of the besieged Palestinian enclave.
Netanyahu told German media company Axel Springer that pushing Israel's military offensive into Rafah in southern Gaza was a significant move in defeating Hamas.
"We are very close to victory ... Once we begin military action against the remaining terror battalions in Rafah, it is only a question of weeks" until the intensive phase of fighting is concluded, Bild newspaper quoted Netanyahu as saying.
The move has been termed a "red line" by US President Joe Biden, who along with his aides has urged Netanyahu to not press ahead with an offensive in Rafah until he comes up with a plan for mass evacuation of civilians.
"It is a red line but I'm never going to leave Israel. The defence of Israel is still critical. So there's no red line (in which) I'm going to cut off all weapons so they don't have the Iron Dome to protect them," said Biden on being asked by MSNBC if the invasion of Rafah would be a red line.
(With inputs from agencies)
Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.