Missile hits Israel airport area in Huthi-claimed attack
A missile struck inside the perimeter of Israel’s main airport on Sunday, wounding six people, halting flights and gouging a wide crater, in an attack claimed by Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels.The Israeli military said “several attempts were made to intercept” the missile that was launched from Yemen, a rare Huthi attack that penetrated Israel’s air defences.An official told AFP the country’s security cabinet would convene in the evening.A police video showed officers standing on the edge of a deep hole in the ground with the control tower visible behind them. No damage was reported to airport infrastructure.The police reported a “missile impact” at Israel’s main international gateway.An AFP photographer said the missile hit near the parking lots of Terminal 3, the airport’s largest. The crater was just hundreds of metres (yards) from the tarmac.”You can see the area just behind us: a crater was formed here, several dozen metres (yards) wide and several dozen metres deep,” central Israel’s police chief, Yair Hezroni, said in the video.The Israel Airports Authority said: “This is the first time a missile has fallen so close to the terminal and the runways.”It was not immediately clear whether the impact was caused by the Yemeni missile or by an interceptor.The attack was claimed by the Huthis, who say they act in support for Palestinians in war-ravaged Gaza.”The missile force of the Yemeni armed forces carried out a military operation targeting Ben Gurion airport” with a “hypersonic ballistic missile”, the rebels said, referring to their forces.Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened a forceful response, saying: “Anyone who hits us, we will hit them seven times stronger.”- ‘Take shelter’ -Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad later hailed the attack on the airport.Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service said it had treated at least six people with light to moderate injuries.An AFP journalist inside the airport at the time of the attack said he heard a “loud bang” at around 9:35 am (0635 GMT), adding the “reverberation was very strong”.”Security staff immediately asked hundreds of passengers to take shelter, some in bunkers,” the AFP journalist said.”Many passengers are now waiting for their flights to take off, and others are trying to find alternative flights.”An incoming Air India flight was diverted to Abu Dhabi, an airport official told AFP.It was one of the airlines to suspend Tel Aviv flights until May 6, along with Germany’s Lufthansa Group, which includes Austrian, Eurowings and SWISS.A passenger said the attack, which came shortly after air raid sirens sounded across parts of Israel, caused “panic”.”It is crazy to say but since October 7 we are used to this,” the 50-year-old, who did not want to be named, said referring to the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war.An airline official said: “Today was a close call”.”I have worked at the airport for several years but even I was afraid today,” they told AFP.Flights resumed after being halted briefly, with the aviation authority saying Ben Gurion was now “open and operational”.- Deadlock -Israel’s security cabinet would meet on Sunday, a government official said, after media also reported a planned expansion of the Gaza war with call-up orders issued for tens of thousands of reserve troops.Several news outlets said the military had begun sending the orders for reservists to replace conscripts and active-duty soldiers in Israel and the occupied West Bank so they can be redeployed to Gaza.A military spokesperson neither confirmed nor denied the reports but Israel’s public broadcaster said the security cabinet would meet to discuss the expanded offensive.The Huthis, who control swathes of Yemen, have launched missiles and drones targeting Israel and Red Sea shipping throughout the Gaza war. They say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians.Israel resumed major operations across Gaza on March 18 amid deadlock over how to proceed with a two-month ceasefire that had largely stopped the war sparked by Hamas’s October 2023 attack.Sunday’s attack on Israel was the fourth the Huthis have claimed in three days.Israel has intercepted most of the Huthi missiles fired since the Gaza war started.In March, the Huthis threatened to resume attacks on shipping over Israel’s aid blockade on Gaza after a suspension of attacks during the truce.The US military has been hammering the rebels with near-daily strikes since March 15.
‘We don’t care’: weddings go on in Pakistan’s Kashmir border
Rabia Bibi, a glittering red dupatta pulled over her eyes, wasn’t about to let the threat of war with India stop her wedding in a remote valley in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.”In our childhood the situation was also like this but we are not afraid. Nor will we be,” the 18-year-old told AFP after being carried in a flower-garlanded “doli” carriage.”We want peace, so our life does not get affected,” said the bride, radiant in gold bangles, bejewelled bridal headpiece and richly embroidered scarlet robe.At the ceremony — preceded by the sacrifice of a chicken — groom Chaudhry Junaid, no less resplendent in his elaborate sherwani coat and red-and-gold turban, was also defiant.”People are anxious and worried, but even so, we haven’t cancelled any traditional ceremonies,” the 23-year-old chef said.- Gunfire traded -Tensions between the nuclear-armed arch-rivals have soared since India accused Pakistan of backing a shooting that killed 26 civilians on the Indian side of disputed Kashmir on April 22.Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given his military “full operational freedom” to respond to the attack.The two sides have traded gunfire for more than a week on the heavily militarised border and Pakistan on Saturday conducted a “training launch” of a missile to prove its “operational readiness”.Islamabad last week warned they had “credible intelligence” that India was planning imminent strikes.International pressure has been piled on both New Delhi and Islamabad to de-escalate.On the Pakistani side, emergency drills have been carried out in playing fields, residents have been told to stock up on food and medicine, and religious schools have shut.In Indian-run Kashmir, a vast manhunt seeking the gunmen continues across the territory, while those living along the frontier are moving further away — or cleaning out bunkers fearing conflict.- ‘We want peace’ -India and Pakistan, which both claim Kashmir in full, have fought several wars over the Himalayan territory since the end of British rule in 1947.Ordinary Kashmiris living on both sides of the divided Muslim-majority region are often the first victims caught in the crossfire.In a checkpoint-free corner of the picturesque Neelum Valley, a tourist epicentre that was shut down last week, Indian territory is the other side of the river that winds through the mountainous region.Residents told AFP they had been urged by the Pakistani authorities to remain vigilant because of the threat of a possible military confrontation. In another village, mechanical engineer Shoaib Akhtar was also getting married.”This is the happiest occasion of our lives, and we won’t let anything ruin it,” said Akhtar, the 25-year-old groom surrounded by family.”Right now, I’m getting married and that’s what matters most. If war comes, we’ll deal with it when it happens,” he added.”We are happy, and if India has some issues, we don’t care,” Bibi said.”We stand firm and will fight for our interests and our nation.”
Missile hits Israel airport area in attack claimed by Yemen’s Huthis
A missile landed inside the perimeter of Israel’s main airport on Sunday, wounding six people, halting flights and gouging a wide crater, in an attack claimed by Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels.The Israeli military said “several attempts were made to intercept” the missile that was launched from Yemen, a rare Huthi attack that penetrated Israel’s air defences.A video issued by Israel’s police force showed officers standing on the edge of a deep crater with the control tower visible in the distance behind them. No damage was reported to airport buildings or runways.The police reported a “missile impact” at Ben Gurion airport, Israel’s main international gateway.An AFP photographer said the missile hit near the parking lots of Terminal 3, the airport’s largest, with the crater less than a kilometre (0.6 miles) away from the closest tarmac.”You can see the area just behind us: a crater was formed here, several dozen metres (yards) wide and several dozen metres deep,” central Israel’s police chief, Yair Hezroni, said in the video shared by the force.It was not immediately clear whether the impact was caused by the Yemeni missile or by an interceptor.The attack was claimed by Yemen’s Huthi rebels, who say they act in support for Palestinians in war-ravaged Gaza.”The missile force of the Yemeni armed forces carried out a military operation targeting Ben Gurion airport” with a “hypersonic ballistic missile”, the Huthis said in a statement, referring to their own forces.Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service said it had treated at least six people with light to moderate injuries.An AFP journalist inside the airport at the time of the attack said he heard a “loud bang” at around 9:35 am (0635 GMT), adding the “reverberation was very strong”.”Security staff immediately asked hundreds of passengers to take shelter, some in bunkers,” the AFP journalist said.”Many passengers are now waiting for their flights to take off, and others are trying to find alternative flights.”An incoming Air India flight was diverted to Abu Dhabi, an airport official told AFP.A passenger said the attack, which came shortly after air raid sirens sounded across parts of the country, caused panic.”It is crazy to say but since October 7 we are used to this,” said the passenger, who did not want to be named, referring to the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.”A missile might come at any time and life stops for some time. Today at the airport there was panic and even I was scared, because the blast was big.”- Vow to hit back -Israel’s airport authority said that “departures and arrivals have resumed” at Ben Gurion, a short while after they had been interrupted due to the missile fire.The airport “is open and operational”, the aviation authority said in a statement.Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened a forceful response, saying: “Anyone who hits us, we will hit them seven times stronger.”The Iran-backed Huthi rebels, who control swathes of Yemen, have launched missiles and drones targeting Israel and Red Sea shipping throughout the Gaza war, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians.On Saturday, the Huthis claimed a third missile attack on Israel in two days.The vast majority of missiles fired by the Huthis since the start of the Gaza war have been intercepted by Israeli air defences.The Yemeni rebels had paused their attacks during a recent two-month ceasefire in the Gaza war.But in March, they threatened to resume attacks on international shipping over Israel’s aid blockade on the Gaza Strip.The move triggered a response from the US military, which began hammering the rebels with near-daily air strikes starting March 15 in a bid to keep them from threatening shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.US strikes on the rebels began under former president Joe Biden, but intensified under his successor Donald Trump.Since March, the United States says it has struck more than 1,000 targets in Yemen.
Mexican mayor arrested in probe of alleged drug cartel ranch: govt source
A federal official said a mayor in western Mexico was arrested as part of a probe into a suspected drug cartel training camp, where forced recruits were allegedly tortured or killed if they refused to cooperate. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel, a powerful drug trafficking group, allegedly used the ranch in Jalisco state to train newly recruited gunmen, senior officials have said.The discovery of human bones and clothing at the ranch in the city of Teuchitlan in March — what Human Rights Watch has called an “apparent mass killing site” — caused shock in a country where murders and kidnappings are daily occurrences.Teuchitlan Mayor Jose Murguia Santiago was arrested as part of an investigation by government prosecutors into probable omissions or complicity of authorities with the cartel, a federal source told AFP on Saturday.The source requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.Murguia was arrested late Saturday afternoon, according to federal arrest records.The Guerreros Buscadores collective, a group dedicated to locating missing relatives, has described the Teuchitlan ranch as an “extermination center” with “clandestine crematoriums” where forced recruits were thought to have been held by the cartel.Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch told reporters in late March that there was “no evidence that it was an extermination camp.” But he also said that an alleged recruiter — who was arrested — said that cartel members tortured and killed recruits who refused to cooperate or tried to flee.The attorney general’s office, which has denied executions were systematically carried out, took over the investigation after a complaint from Guerreros Buscadores.The group found buried bones, clothing, shoes and other objects at the ranch, which went unnoticed during a search in September by authorities who raided it following reports of gunfire.According to the Jalisco state prosecutor’s office, 10 people were arrested, two captives freed and a dead body found along with skeletal remains in September.Besides Mayor Murguia, about a dozen others have been arrested in the case, including a police chief from a neighboring municipality and two of his officers.More than 127,000 people are registered as missing in Mexico, most of them since 2006 when the government declared war on drug trafficking groups.By state, Jalisco has the highest number of missing persons cases, with more than 15,000.