Israel military intercepts Houthi missile fired from Yemen
'Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel, a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted by the Israeli air force,' the military said in a statement.
The Houthis later claimed the attack, saying they had fired a missile at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv.
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi fighters have launched repeated missile and drone attacks against Israel since their Palestinian ally Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel sparked the Gaza war.
The Houthis, who say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians, paused their attacks during a two-month ceasefire in Gaza that ended in March, but renewed them after Israel resumed major operations.
Israel has carried out several retaliatory strikes in Yemen, targeting Houthi-held ports and the airport in the rebel-held capital Sanaa.
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Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Israel considers full Gaza takeover as more die of hunger
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu favors a complete military takeover of Gaza, media reported, and was to meet senior security officials on Tuesday to finalize a new strategy in the 22-month war. Mediation between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas has collapsed despite intense international pressure for a ceasefire to ease hunger and appalling conditions in the besieged Palestinian enclave. Eight more people died of starvation or malnutrition in the past 24 hours, Gaza's health ministry said, while another 79 died in the latest Israeli fire. Netanyahu was to meet Defense Minister Israel Katz and military Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir to decide on a strategy to take to cabinet later this week, an Israeli official told Reuters. Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a confidant of Netanyahu, would also be present. Israel's Channel 12, citing an official from Netanyahu's office, said the prime minister was leaning towards taking control of the entire territory. That would reverse a 2005 decision to pull settlers and military out of Gaza while retaining control over its borders, a move right-wing parties blame for Hamas gaining power there. It was unclear, however, whether Netanyahu was foreseeing a prolonged occupation or a short-term operation aimed at dismantling Hamas and freeing Israeli hostages. The prime minister's office declined to comment on the Channel 12 report. 'It is still necessary to complete the defeat of the enemy in Gaza, release our hostages and ensure that Gaza never again constitutes a threat to Israel,' Netanyahu told new recruits at a military base. 'We are not giving up on any of these missions.' On Saturday, Hamas released a video of Evyatar David, one of 50 hostages still held in Gaza, appearing emaciated in what seemed to be an underground tunnel. The images shocked Israelis and sparked international condemnation. Throughout the war, there has been sustained international pressure on Hamas to release the remaining hostages, of whom Israeli officials estimate 20 are believed to still be alive. Most hostages have been released during ceasefires following diplomatic negotiations. Israel broke the last ceasefire. Pressure tactic? A Palestinian official said the threat of a full takeover of Gaza may be a tactic to pressure Hamas into concessions, while the Palestinian foreign ministry urged foreign nations to take heed of the reports. 'The ministry urges countries and the international community to treat these leaks with utmost seriousness and to intervene urgently to prevent their implementation, whether these leaks are meant to exert pressure, test international reactions, or are genuine and serious,' it said. Israel's coalition government, the most right-wing and religiously conservative in its history, includes far-right politicians who advocate for the annexation of both Gaza and the West Bank and encourage Palestinians to leave their homeland. Nearly two years of fighting in Gaza has strained the military, which has a small standing army and has had to repeatedly mobilize reservists. It has throughout the war pushed back against the idea of Israel fully occupying Gaza. In a sign of differences between some members of Israel's ruling coalition and the military, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on X challenged military head Zamir to state he would comply with government directives even if a decision was made to take all of Gaza. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar then said the military chief must give his professional opinion, while Defense Minister Katz weighed in to say the military would professionally implement whatever policy the government set. Hunger The war was triggered when Hamas-led militants on October 7, 2023, attacked Israel, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and capturing 251 hostages, taking them into Gaza. Israel's military response has devastated the tiny, crowded enclave, killing more than 61,000 people – mostly civilians – according to Palestinian health authorities. Israel's campaign has forced nearly all of Gaza's over 2 million people from their homes and caused what a global hunger monitor called last week an unfolding famine. Some 188 Palestinians, including 94 children, have died from hunger since the war began, according to Gaza authorities. An Israeli security official, in a briefing to reporters, acknowledged there may be hunger in some parts of Gaza but rejected reports of famine or starvation. On Tuesday, Israeli tanks pushed into central Gaza but it was not clear if the move was part of a larger ground offensive. Palestinians living in the last quarter of territory where Israel has not yet taken military control – via ground incursions or orders for civilians to leave – said any new push would be catastrophic. 'If the tanks pushed through, where would we go, into the sea? This will be like a death sentence to the entire population,' said Abu Jehad, a Gaza wood merchant.
Arab News
3 hours ago
- Arab News
Gaza civil defense says Israeli attacks kill 26
GAZA CITY: Gaza's civil defense agency said 26 people were killed by Israeli gunfire and air strikes on Tuesday, including 14 who were waiting near an aid distribution site inside the Palestinian territory. Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that eight people were killed by Israeli gunfire while waiting for aid near the south Gaza city of Khan Yunis. Six more people were killed and 21 injured by Israeli fire in central Gaza while waiting for food near a distribution center, according to Bassal. The Israeli army told AFP it was looking into the incidents. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency and other parties. Thousands of Gazans gather daily near food distribution points across Gaza, including four belonging to the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Its operations have been marred by chaotic scenes and near-daily reports of Israeli forces firing on those waiting to collect rations. Israeli restrictions on the entry of goods and aid into Gaza since the start of the war nearly 22 months ago have led to shortages of food and essential goods, including medicine, medical supplies and fuel, which hospitals rely on to power their generators. Bassal said that five people were killed by a nightly air strike on a tent in Al-Mawasi in south Gaza, an area Israeli authorities designated as a safe zone early on in the war. 'It's said to be a green zone and it's safe, but it's not. They also say that the aid (distribution) is safe, but people die while obtaining aid,' said Adham Younes, who lost a relative in the strike. 'There's no safety within the Gaza Strip, everyone is exposed to death, everyone is subject to injury,' the 30-year-old told AFP. Mahmud Younes, another Gazan who said he witnessed the strike, said: ''We found women screaming — they were covered in blood. The entire family has been injured.' Bassal of the civil defense agency said that six more people were killed in a strike near Gaza City, and one in a strike near the southern city of Khan Yunis. The Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's armed wing and the largest armed force in Gaza, said in a statement Tuesday that they had bombarded an Israeli command-and-control center in south Gaza's Morag Axis, an Israeli-controlled corridor.
Arab News
4 hours ago
- Arab News
Lebanon's cabinet meets to discuss Hezbollah's arms after US pressure
BEIRUT: Lebanon's cabinet will meet on Tuesday to discuss Hezbollah's arsenal, after Washington ramped up pressure on ministers to publicly commit to disarming the Iran-backed group and amid fears Israel could intensify strikes if they fail to do so. The session scheduled for 3:00 p.m. (1200 GMT) at Lebanon's presidential palace is the first time that cabinet will discuss the fate of Hezbollah's weapons — unimaginable when the group was at the zenith of its power just two years ago. Pressure from the US and Hezbollah's domestic rivals for the group to relinquish its arms has spiked following last year's war with Israel, which killed Hezbollah's top leaders and thousands of fighters and destroyed much of its rocket arsenal. In June, US envoy Thomas Barrack proposed a roadmap to Lebanese officials to fully disarm Hezbollah, in exchange for Israel halting its strikes on Lebanon and withdrawing its troops from five points they still occupy in southern Lebanon. That proposal included a condition that Lebanon's government pass a cabinet decision clearly pledging to disarm Hezbollah. After Barrack made several trips to Lebanon to urge progress on the plan, Washington's patience began wearing thin, Reuters reported last week. It pressured Lebanon's ministers to swiftly make the public pledge so that talks could continue. But Lebanese officials and diplomats say such an explicit vow could spark communal tensions in Lebanon, where Hezbollah and its arsenal retain significant support among the country's Shiite Muslim community. PROPOSED WORDING On Monday evening, a group of dozens of motorcycles set out from a neighborhood in Beirut's suburbs where Hezbollah has strong support, carrying the party's flags. Hezbollah's main ally, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, has been in talks with President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam ahead of Tuesday's session to agree on a general phrase to include in a cabinet decision to appease the US and buy Lebanon more time, two Lebanese officials said. Berri's proposed wording would commit Lebanon to forming a national defense strategy and maintaining a ceasefire with Israel, but would avoid an explicit pledge to disarm Hezbollah across Lebanon, the officials said. But other Lebanese ministers plan to propose a formulation that commits Lebanon to a deadline to disarm Hezbollah, said Kamal Shehadi, a minister affiliated with the anti-Hezbollah Lebanese Forces party. 'There's frankly no need to kick the can down the road and postpone a decision. We have to put Lebanon's interest first and take a decision today,' Shehadi told Reuters. Lebanese officials and foreign envoys say Lebanese leaders fear that a failure to issue a clear decision on Tuesday could prompt Israel to escalate its strikes, including on Beirut. A US-brokered ceasefire last November ended the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, though Israel has continued to carry out strikes on what it says are Hezbollah arms depots and fighters, mostly in southern Lebanon.
