Missile from Yemen halts flights in Israel hours before vote on intensifying Gaza war
BEN-GURION INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Israel — A missile launched by Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen briefly halted flights and commuter traffic at Israel's main international airport on Sunday after its impact on open ground within the perimeter left a plume of smoke and caused panic among passengers.
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The Houthis have targeted Israel throughout the war in Gaza in solidarity with Palestinians. The attack on Ben-Gurion International Airport came hours before Israeli Cabinet ministers were set to vote on whether to intensify military operations in Gaza. The army began calling up thousands of reserves in anticipation of a wider operation, officials said.
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Israel's army confirmed this was the first time a missile struck the airport grounds since the war began, though fragments of missiles or interceptors have struck nearby. Israel's military said several attempts to intercept it were unsuccessful. It left a crater near the airport's access road.
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Passengers were heard yelling and scrambling for cover in footage shared by Israeli media. Police said air, road and rail traffic were halted. Traffic resumed after about an hour, Israel Airports Authority said. Israel's paramedic service Magen David Adom said four people were lightly wounded.
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Multiple international airlines canceled or postponed flights. The war with Hamas in Gaza and then Hezbollah in Lebanon had led a wave of airlines to suspend flights to Israel, but they have since returned to prewar levels.
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Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said in a video statement that the group fired a hypersonic ballistic missile at the airport.
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Houthi rebels have been firing at Israel since the war with Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023. The missiles have mostly been intercepted, although some have penetrated Israel's missile defense systems, causing damage.
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Israel has struck back against the rebels in Yemen, and the U.S., Israel's top ally, launched a campaign of strikes in March against them.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the U.S. was supporting Israeli operations against the Houthis. 'It's not bang, bang and we're done, but there will be bangs,' he said in a video posted on social media.
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Netanyahu in a later statement said Israel would respond to the Houthi attack 'AND, at a time and place of our choosing, to their Iranian terror masters.'
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Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
UN to vote on resolution demanding Gaza ceasefire, hostage release and aid access
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Toronto Sun
4 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
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Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Democrats forced two procedural votes Wednesday to protest Qatar's donation of a $400-million plane to be used as Air Force One and a $2-billion investment by a UAE-backed company using a Trump family-linked stablecoin, a form of cryptocurrency. Sen. Chris Murphy, who led the Democratic effort, said the U.S. Senate should not 'grease the wheels' for Trump. 'We can do that by voting to block these two arms sales to Qatar and to the UAE — not permanently, but until both countries commit to deny Trump's requests for personal enrichment as part of the bilateral relationship,' Murphy said. Read More Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Trump's administration is still sorting out the legal arrangement for accepting a luxury jet from the Qatari royal family and how the plane would be modified so it is safe for the president, who has called the arrangement a 'no brainer' as a new Air Force One has faced delays at U.S.-based Boeing. Trump said he wouldn't fly around in the gifted Boeing 747 when his term ends, but Democrats, and even some Republicans, have strongly questioned the ethics of the arrangement. At a hearing on Wednesday, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth refused to provide details on plans for his department to accept the jet. He said budgeting and schedules for security upgrades to turn the plane into the president's aircraft are classified. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 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Vancouver Sun
5 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
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If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth 'has authorized the voluntary departure of military dependents from locations' across the region, U.S. Central Command said in a statement. The command 'is monitoring the developing tension in the Middle East.' Speaking at the Kennedy Center in Washington on Wednesday evening, President Donald Trump said, 'They are being moved out, because it could be a dangerous place, and we'll see what happens. We've given notice to move out, and we'll see what happens.' Tensions in the region have been rising in recent days as talks between the U.S. and Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program appear to have hit an impasse. The talks seek to limit Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions that the U.S. has imposed on the Islamic Republic. 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Earlier Wednesday, a statement from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, a Mideast-based effort overseen by the British navy, issued a warning to ships in the region that it 'has been made aware of increased tensions within the region which could lead to an escalation of military activity having a direct impact on mariners.' It urged caution in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz. It did not name Iran, though those waterways have seen Iranian ship seizures and attacks in the past. The top U.S. military officer for the Middle East, Gen. Erik Kurilla, was scheduled to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday, but that testimony has now been postponed, according to the committee's website. The Pentagon has not commented on the postponement. Meanwhile, Iraq's state-run Iraqi News Agency said in a statement attributed to an unnamed government official that the evacuation of some nonessential employees from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad was part of 'procedures related to the U.S. diplomatic presence in a number of Middle Eastern countries, not just Iraq' and that Iraqi officials 'have not recorded any security indicators that warrant an evacuation.' 'We reiterate that all security indicators and briefings support the escalating assessments of stability and the restoration of internal security,' the statement said. ___ AP writers Farnoush Amiri at the United Nations, Aamer Madhani in Washington and Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed to this report.
