Houthi missile forces Israel to briefly close air traffic as Gaza offensive grinds on

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene his security cabinet on Sunday to discuss the expansion of the Gaza offensive and a possible resumption of aid into the besieged enclave, two government officials said.

In a video message posted on the social media platform X on Sunday, Netanyahu said he was convening the security cabinet to discuss "the next stage" of the war in Gaza.

It was unclear if the ministers will give final approval at the meeting, but the military has already begun issuing tens of thousands of call-up orders for its reserve forces, looking to expand the Gaza campaign, its chief said on Sunday.

New aid plans will also be discussed at Sunday's security cabinet meeting, two officials said.

Israel's army on Sunday confirmed it was calling up "tens of thousands" of reservists to expand its war in Gaza, army chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said.

"This week we are issuing tens of thousands of orders to our reservists to intensify and expand our operation in Gaza," Zamir said in a statement, adding the army would destroy all Hamas infrastructure, "both on the surface and underground".

Iranian authorities arrested two people including a government official in connection with a deadly explosion last month at the country's main commercial port, state television reported on Sunday.

"A government manager and another from the private sector have been arrested," state television said on Sunday, citing a report from the investigating committee. The committee announced on Monday that "false declarations (of goods) were made in some cases". It said on Sunday that "suspects have been identified and the summoning process is underway", without elaborating.

The April 26 blast at a dock in the southern port of Shahid Rajaee killed at least 57 people and injured more than 1,000, officials said, revising down an earlier death toll.

The judiciary on Sunday said the toll had been revised because "it was determined that some of the bodies considered separate were in fact one body", adding that it could still change.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday promised to respond to Iran at "a time and place of our choosing" over an attack by Yemen's Tehran-backed Houthi rebels on Israel's Ben Gurion Airport.

"Attacks by the Houthis emanate from Iran. Israel will respond to the Houthi attack against our main airport AND, at a time and place of our choosing, to their Iranian terror masters," Netanyahu wrote on X, reposting a March message by US President Donald Trump also attributing attacks by the Yemeni group to their Iranian backers.

President Trump is absolutely right!

Attacks by the Houthis emanate from Iran. Israel will respond to the Houthi attack against our main airport AND, at a time and place of our choosing, to their Iranian terror masters. pic.twitter.com/eO4hyUzNsI

— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) May 4, 2025

An international NGO that intends to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza by sea said on Sunday it was in talks with Malta's government about allowing the vessel to enter Maltese waters to repair damage caused by a drone attack.

Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Sunday that Malta was prepared to assist the ship with necessary repairs so that it could continue on its journey, once it was satisfied that the vessel held only humanitarian aid.

Coalition officials said on Sunday the ship was in no danger of sinking but they wanted to be sure it would be safe from further attacks while undergoing repairs, and able to sail out again.

Earlier on Sunday the coalition had accused Malta of impeding access to its ship. Malta denied the claim, saying the crew had refused assistance and even refused to allow a surveyor on board to assess the damage.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday promised a multi-phased response to Yemen's Houthis after the Iran-backed rebels struck the area of Israel's main airport with a missile.

"We have acted against them in the past and we will act in the future, but I cannot go into detail (...) it will not happen in one bang, but there will be many bangs," Netanyahu said in a video on published on the Telegram messaging platform.

Hamas has executed a number of alleged looters after several incidents in which heavily armed gangs attacked food stores and community kitchens in the Gaza Strip this week, sources close to the Palestinian militant group said.

Hamas officials have accused some of the looters of working in collaboration with Israel, which has sealed off aid from entering Gaza for the past two months. Israel has not commented on the allegation.

In one incident, the Hamas-run interior ministry said a police officer was killed and others were wounded when an Israeli drone fired a missile at a police unit chasing criminals in Gaza City.

A large fire has broken out in the Iranian city of Mashhad, with reports saying an explosion was heard before the fire started.

Videos shared online showed massive plumes of smoke filling the air from the site of the alleged explosion.

Some reports said the blaze was at a motorcycle factory.

BREAKING 🔴🔴

Another fire and explosion has broken out in the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad. pic.twitter.com/ROLTFWA0gZ

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) May 4, 2025

Gaza's civil defence agency on Sunday said Israeli strikes on the Palestinian territory killed 16 people, including at least three children.

Six people were killed in overnight air strikes in Khan Younis governorate, in the south of the Gaza Strip, civil defence spokesman Mahmoud Bassal said. They included two boys aged five and two, in an apartment in Al-Mawasi.

The civil defence later said 10 more people were killed in a strike on a tent also in Al-Mawasi, among them a child and seven women.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond for comment when contact by AFP. A spokesperson said they were gathering details.

British Airways said on Sunday it was suspending all flights to and from Tel Aviv until May 7 after a Houthi-claimed missile struck inside the perimeter of Israel's main international airport.

"We continually monitor operating conditions and have made the decision to suspend all our flights to and from Tel Aviv, up to and including BA405 on Wednesday, 7 May," the airline said in a statement sent to AFP.

An international NGO accused Malta on Sunday of impeding access to a Gaza-bound humanitarian aid ship which it says was bombed by two drones two days before, and Malta denied the claim, saying the crew had refused assistance.

The NGO said volunteers from 13 countries who tried to reach the ship from Malta on Friday and Saturday were intercepted by the Maltese military, which had forced them back to Malta under threat of arrest.

It said Maltese authorities had also prevented the ship from putting into port to repair the damage and get help for four people aboard who it said suffered cuts and burns in the drone attack. It was the first mention of any injuries.

Prime Minister Robert Abela said Malta was continuing to offer assistance to the ship, but that Malta's security needed to be safeguarded. He said the ship's captain was continuing to refuse to allow a surveyor and Malta police on board.

The United Arab Emirates will allow its citizens to travel to Lebanon again from 7 May, the UAE's foreign ministry said on Sunday.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun visited Abu Dhabi earlier this week.

Those wishing to visit Lebanon must register with the UAE's "Twajudi" service and fill out a form stating where they will stay among other details, according to Gulf News. Failure to comply could see them faced with a travel ban or legal measures.

Gulf states had repeatedly warned their citizens from travelling to Lebanon over the years due to political instability, including armed clashes, spillovers from the Syrian war, and most recently Israel's war with Hezbollah last year.

Political ties had also worsened over Hezbollah's growing influence on Lebanese politics and their intervention in regional conflicts.

The Lebanese army said in a statement on Sunday that Hamas handed over a suspect involved in launching missiles towards Israel in March.

The army said Hamas handed over M.Gh. outside the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in the southern port city of Sidon.

Beirut warned Hamas earlier this week about carrying out military operations from Lebanese soil and compromising the country's security.

Germany's Lufthansa airlines says it is suspending flights to Israel until Tuesday May 6 after a Houthi missile attack on Ben Gurion airport.

Lebanese headed to polling stations on Sunday in the first round of municipal elections which kicked off in the Mount Lebanon governorate.

These are the first local elections since 2016 which were supposed to happen in 2022, but were delayed three times for various reasons, including the country's financial crisis and last year's war with Israel.

Voters will pick a mayor and mukhtars who will head municipal councils for a six-year term. Mount Lebanon has six districts with a total of 333 municipalities.

The remaining three Sundays in May will see local polls in the rest of the country.

Voting began at 7 am local time (4 am GMT) and will end at 7 pm.

Gaza’s health ministry said Israeli attacks have killed 40 people and wounded 125 others over the past 24 hours.

The ministry said 2,436 people have been killed since Israel resumed its strikes on Gaza on 18 March after a two-month truce.

This brings the total death toll since the war started on 7 October 2023 to 52,535 people with close to 118,500 wounded, mostly civilians.

Israel's security cabinet is due to meet on Sunday, a government official told AFP, following a missile attack on the country's main airport and after media reported a planned expansion of the Gaza war.

The meeting is scheduled for 7:00 pm (1600 GMT), the official said on condition of anonymity.

Earlier reports said the meeting had been cancelled.

Syria is set to sign a deal to import electricity from Turkey through a 400-kilovolt transmission line between the two countries "soon", the Syrian state news agency cited the country's energy minister as saying on Sunday.

Syria has suffered from severe power shortages throughout the 14-year conflict.

US President Donald Trump is due to meet the heads of state of six Gulf countries while on a visit to Riyadh later this month, a source close to the Saudi government told AFP on Sunday.

"Trump will meet the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Riyadh" with the goal to reinforce "political and economic cooperation", the source said, requesting anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for a missile attack Sunday on Israel's main international airport, saying they were acting in support for Palestinians in Gaza.

"The missile force of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a military operation targeting Ben Gurion Airport" with a "hypersonic ballistic missile", the Houthis said in a statement, referring to their own ranks.

"The missile successfully hit its target," the Iran-backed group said, adding that the attack was conducted "in support of the oppressed Palestinian people and their mujahideen", or fighters.

The armed wing of Palestinian group Hamas praised a missile attack Sunday on Israel's main international airport that was claimed by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

"Yemen... escalates its attacks on the heart of the illegitimate Zionist entity, surpassing the most advanced defence systems in the world and striking its targets with precision," Abu Obeida, spokesman for the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said in a statement.

An Israeli Cabinet meeting that was scheduled for Sunday to discuss expanding military operations in Gaza was cancelled following a missile attack from Yemen on Ben Gurion airport, the Israeli Walla news site reported.

Gaza’s health ministry said Israel was preventing international and UN organisations from accessing fuel storage sites designated for hospitals under the excuse that they’re located in no-go (red) zones.

The ministry said a ban on access to fuel threatens to shut down hospitals as the medical facilities rely on generators, warning that available fuel supplies were enough for only three days.

Flights resumed at Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport after a brief interruption caused by a missile fired from Yemen, the airport authority said in a statement.

"Departures and arrivals have resumed" and the airport "is open and operational", the statement said.

Israel's defence minister threatened on Sunday a forceful response to a missile fired from Yemen that the army said impacted near the country's main international airport.

"Anyone who hits us, we will hit them seven times stronger," Israel Katz said in a statement.

Gaza mediator Qatar on Sunday rejected comments from Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that it needed to "stop playing both sides" in truce negotiations.

Qatar "firmly rejects the inflammatory statements... which fall far short of the most basic standards of political and moral responsibility," foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said in a post on X.

"Meanwhile, the Palestinian people in Gaza are enduring one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes of modern times marked by a suffocating blockade, systematic starvation, denial of medicine and shelter, and the use of humanitarian aid as a tool of political coercion. Is this truly the model of "civilization" being promoted?"

The State of Qatar firmly rejects the inflammatory statements issued by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, which fall far short of the most basic standards of political and moral responsibility. Portraying the ongoing aggression against Gaza as a defense of “civilization”…

— د. ماجد محمد الأنصاري Dr. Majed Al Ansari (@majedalansari) May 3, 2025

An Israeli official said the country’s influential security Cabinet would meet on Sunday evening to vote on plans to expand fighting in the Gaza Strip.

A military official said the country was calling up thousands of reserve soldiers. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Extremist Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, in an interview with Israeli Army Radio, said he wanted to see a "powerful" expansion of the war, but did not disclose details as to what that would entail.

"We need to increase the intensity and continue until we achieve total victory. We must win a total victory," he said.