Bomb scare at Israel airport after US family tries to transport unexploded shell back home

A US family set off a bomb scare at Israel’s main airport after presenting an unexploded artillery shell at a security check, authorities said.

Footage posted on social media shows panicked passengers scattering at the departure hall of Ben Gurion Airport, near Tel Aviv, on Thursday.

The US family was said to have picked up the shell during a visit to the Israeli occupied Golan Heights - a site of wars between Israel and Syria - and had packed it as a souvenir for their return trip.

When they showed it to security staff as they checked-in their luggage at the airport, officials swiftly called for an evacuation of the area, according to reports.

Ben Gurion Airport is considered to have one of the highest levels of security in the world, with travellers required to go through security checks before the terminal and check-in areas.

Following the incident, the Israel Airports Authority confirmed that a man was hospitalised with injuries sustained as he tried to escape to safety over a baggage carousel.

It added that the family was allowed to board their flight after being questioned by security staff, who gave them the all-clear.

The injured man, a 32-year-old called Uri, spoke to local media after being taken to hospital.

"I was at the airport waiting for an hour in line until I got to the check-in counter, and suddenly at a radius of five metres people started running away and left luggage," he told YNet. "The fear was that someone is spraying bullets, I understood that I too have to escape, so I ran towards the check-in, I stumbled on a conveyor belt... and flew a distance of six metres."

Israel, which boasts high levels of aviation security, is on high alert after a series of deadly recent attacks across the country.

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