After dodging the question a day earlier, Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan told CNN on Wednesday that the group is indeed targeting Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv with rocket attacks.
"Well, in fact, in this fight, Ben Gurion Airport is used by military agents, so it's targeted because it's used by the Israeli air forces," Hamdan said on
CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer."
The FAA on Tuesday placed a 24-hour ban on U.S. planes landing in Tel Aviv after a Hamas rocket exploded about a mile from Ben Gurion. The ban was extended for another 24 hours Wednesday. Most European airlines also have declined to land there.
Blitzer had asked Hamdan the same question on Tuesday, but Hamdan changed the subject.
Israel has asked the FAA to lift the ban, insisting the airport is safe. Conservatives, including former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, have agreed, saying the ban hurts the country's economy, which is largely based on tourism.
Former New York City Mayor
Michael Bloomberg flew into Tel Aviv for a short stay in a move aimed at solidarity with Israel. He flew in aboard El Al, Israel's national airline.