Israel says it intercepted missile launched from Yemen as EU opposes resumption of Gaza war
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The Israeli military said it had intercepted a missile over Israel on Monday that had been launched from Yemen, according to a statement.
The Houthis, undeterred by waves of U.S. strikes since March 15, fired two ballistic missiles toward Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, the group’s military spokesman said in a televised statement early on Tuesday.
U.S. President Donald Trump also threatened to punish Iran over its perceived support for Yemeni Houthi militants.
Earlier, warning sirens sounded in several areas of Israel, including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
The Houthis have vowed to escalate attacks, including those targeting Israel, in response to the U.S. campaign.
Houthis spokesman Yahya Saree said the group also targeted “the U.S. aircraft carrier Truman, using ballistic and cruise missiles and drones.”
The foiled attack came as the European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas paid a visit to Israel and met with the Palestinian prime minister Mohammad Mustafa in the West Bank on Monday.
Kallas, who met with both Israeli and Palestinian officials, conveyed the EU message, saying the bloc “strongly opposes the resumption of war,” which is “causing an appalling and unacceptable loss of life in Gaza.”
“My message(s) during my visit here are very clear. Hamas must release all hostages. Israel must fully reinstate humanitarian aid to Gaza, and negotiations must resume,” Kallas said at a press conference with the Palestinian Prime Minister in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
“We cannot remain silent about the grave violations of international law and rights of the Palestinian people,” Mohammad Mustafa, the Palestinian Prime Minister, said.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, more than 50,000 Palestinians have now been killed in the Israel-Hamas war after hundreds more deaths were added to the casualty toll following Israel’s resumption of hostilities last week in its surprise wave of airstrikes.
Israel blames Hamas for refusing to release the remaining hostages following the completion of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.
The January ceasefire put an end to over a year of fighting that had been sparked by Hamas’ 7 October, 2023, onslaught on Israel, in which militants murdered about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and captured 251 others.
The majority of hostages were released in the first months following the Gaza war, while approximately 2,000 Palestinian detainees were exchanged for 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight others in January’s truce deal.
Hundreds of thousands of Gaza residents were permitted to return home by Israeli forces.
The sides were supposed to begin negotiations in early February on the ceasefire’s next phase. However, those talks, which called for Hamas to free the remaining 59 hostages in exchange for more Palestinian captives, a permanent ceasefire, and an Israeli departure, never began.
