Xinhua
05 May 2025

Yemen's Houthis announce "comprehensive air blockade" against IsraelYemen's Houthi group said Sunday that it will continue launching missile attacks at airports in Israel, especially at Ben Gurion Airport, as part of its "comprehensive air blockade" against the country."We announce a comprehensive air blockade on the Israeli enemy in response to its decision to expand its aggression against Gaza," Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement aired by the group's al-Masirah TV."We will work to impose the blockade by repeatedly targeting airports, most notably Ben Gurion Airport," he said, urging international airlines to cancel all their flights planned to any Israeli airport.Earlier on Sunday, the Houthi group claimed responsibility for a missile attack that hit a driveway leading to the main terminal of Ben Gurion Airport in central Israel in the morning, which resulted in four minor injuries and caused damage.The Israeli military said aerial defense systems attempted to intercept the missile but failed. It later issued a separate statement, saying an initial inquiry showed that the likely cause of the failure was "a technical issue" with the interceptor missile.Israeli army calls up tens of thousands of reservists to expand Gaza offensiveIsrael's military has begun issuing "tens of thousands" of call-up orders for reservists to intensify its offensive in the Gaza Strip, a senior defense official said on Sunday, vowing to increase pressure on Hamas to free hostages.Eyal Zamir, Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, announced the move during a visit to a naval commando base."This week we are issuing tens of thousands of call-up orders to our reservists to intensify and expand our operations in Gaza," Zamir said. "We are increasing pressure in order to bring our hostages home and to defeat Hamas."He added that as part of the expanded offensive, the military would operate "in additional areas" in the enclave and destroy "all militant infrastructure."Zamir stated the reservists would also be deployed to other areas, including the northern border near Lebanon and Syria, and the occupied West Bank.Missile from Yemen hits Israel's airport, injuring 2A missile launched by Yemen's Houthi forces struck Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport on Sunday, injuring two people and causing damage, the Israeli military and local authorities said.Israel's Magen David Adom emergency service said two people were injured due to the blast and a third person was hurt while running for shelter. Two others were treated for anxiety, the service said.The military said in a statement that aerial defense systems attempted to intercept the missile but failed."Several attempts were made to intercept the missile," a military spokesperson said. "A fall was identified in the area of Ben Gurion Airport."Footage circulating on social media showed the missile hitting a road leading to Terminal 3, the airport's main terminal for international travel, with a large cloud of black smoke rising overhead. Other media reported that the missile created a crater dozens of meters wide and deep.Paramilitary attacks kill at least 300 in SW Sudan in 2 daysAt least 300 people were killed in attacks by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the city of Al-Nuhood in West Kordofan State, southwestern Sudan, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.A ministry statement said the attacks occurred over the past two days and accused the RSF of committing "crimes against humanity," with the killings "carried out on an ethnic basis."The ministry also reiterated its call for the United Nations Security Council and other international actors to end what it called "leniency" toward the RSF's actions.Preliminary Committee of the Sudanese Doctors Syndicate, an independent humanitarian group, also confirmed the death toll of over 300, including 15 women and 21 children.The RSF has not yet commented on the allegations.At least 20 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks across GazaIsraeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip killed at least 20 Palestinians on Sunday, including women and children, as ground and air operations intensified amid continued shelling and drone attacks on residential areas, according to local authorities.At least 11 people, including seven women and three children, were killed when an airstrike hit a tent sheltering displaced families in Al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis, Civil Defense Authority spokesperson Mahmoud Basal told Xinhua. Another four people from one family were also killed in the same area earlier in the day.Elsewhere in Khan Younis, a woman was killed and others injured when a house in the Al-Amal neighborhood was hit. Another strike on a tent near Abasan al-Kabira killed a young man and wounded several others, Basal said.In central Gaza, one woman died and several were injured in a strike on the Abu Huwaishel family home in Nuseirat refugee camp. Northern Gaza also came under fire, with one man killed and his wife and others wounded in a drone strike on al-Nakhil Street in Gaza City's al-Tuffah neighborhood.Basal said rescue teams recovered the body of another victim killed in an attack on Ghazi al-Shawa School in Beit Hanoun.Germany, U.S. clash over AfD extremist classificationGerman authorities have been pushing back against criticism from the U.S. side concerning Germany's decision to classify the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as a confirmed right-wing extremist organization.The decision was made by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) on Friday, stating that the AfD's prevailing "ethnic-based concept of the people" is incompatible with Germany's liberal democratic basic order.In a post on the social media platform X, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that "the popular AfD," which took second place in a recent federal election, should not be considered extremist.The German Foreign Office defended the country's move responding directly via its official account."This is democracy," the office said in the reply, adding that this decision is the result of a thorough and independent investigation to protect the country's constitution and the rule of law."We have learnt from our history that rightwing extremism needs to be stopped," said Germany's foreign office.Israeli PM postpones Azerbaijan visit due to "developments in Gaza, Syria"Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has postponed his planned visit to Azerbaijan, said a statement from his office on Saturday.Netanyahu's visit was scheduled to begin on Wednesday and last five days."In light of developments in the Gaza Strip and Syria, and due to a tight political and security schedule, Prime Minister Netanyahu has decided to postpone his visit to Azerbaijan to a later date," the statement said.However, Israeli news website Walla and other Israeli media outlets reported that the reason for the cancellation was Trkiye's refusal to allow Netanyahu's plane to fly over its territory en route to Azerbaijan's capital, Baku.Citing sources close to Netanyahu, the website said that his office had examined the possibility of flying via alternative flight routes. However, that would have almost doubled the flight duration, and it was decided to cancel the flight.