No sirens were sounded, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said, adding that the incident was under review.

It is rare for sirens not to warn of incoming projectiles in Israel, which has a multi-layered system to defend against missiles and drones. The vast majority of drones fired by the Houthis in Yemen have been intercepted before striking Israel.

The Israeli Air Force said an initial inquiry found that the drone was detected but was not classified as hostile, allowing it to fly through air defences.

“There is no indication of a technical malfunction in the existing detection systems,” the military said in a statement on Sunday, adding that an “extensive investigation” is expected. Several other drones on Sunday were intercepted, the military said.

A spokesperson for the Israel Airports Authority said the southern airspace over Ramon Airport was closed to air traffic after the incident, but reopened after about 90 minutes.

Ramon Airport is one of the few international airports in Israel, primarily serving the city of Eilat at the southern tip of the country on the Red Sea.

Videos shared on social media showed shattered windows and glass-covered floors at the airport’s arrivals hall.

Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s emergency response service, said that they received a report at 2.35pm (9.35pm Sunday AEST) local time about a drone that had come down in the Ramon Airport area. Two people sustained minor injuries as a result of the attack, MDA said.

The Houthi-controlled Yemeni Armed Forces issued a statement after the attack warning airlines that “the airports inside occupied Palestine are not safe and will be continuously targeted.”

The rebel group said the drone “directly hit the airport and caused the airport to shut down, halting air traffic.”

Israel and the Houthis have engaged in an escalating long-range conflict since the Iran-backed rebel group began targeting Israel in what the group’s leaders say is solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. The Houthis have also targeted shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, some of the world’s most critical waterways.

In early May, a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis penetrated Israel’s air defences and struck Ben Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv, halting flights for about 30 minutes. Israel’s long-range Arrow interceptor missile failed to stop the Houthi projectile before it hit. It marked the first time the Houthis had managed to strike such a well-defended target.

After the Houthis fired a ballistic missile armed with a new type of cluster warhead in late August, Israel carried out a strike that killed the group’s prime minister and other senior officials. An Israeli security official said the strike, carried out in the Yemeni capital of Sana’a, killed “a majority of the leadership,” including the foreign minister, minister for security affairs, and others.

Asked if the Houthi’s military chief and defence minister were killed, the official said, “If they are not dead, we will continue to hunt them down.”

Israel has also carried out strikes against Houthi military targets and civilian infrastructure the IDF says is used by the rebel group.