ADEN, Yemen, July 1 (Xinhua) — Yemen’s Houthi group on Tuesday claimed responsibility for launching a ballistic missile targeting Ben Gurion Airport in central Israel.
In a televised statement broadcast by the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV, the group’s military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said they had “carried out a special military operation targeting Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv using a hypersonic ballistic missile of the Palestine-2 type.”
According to Sarea, the missile strike “successfully achieved its goal” by forcing “millions of settlers into shelters and disrupting airport operations.”
Sarea also claimed that a wave of one-way unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks targeted what he described as “three sensitive sites” in Eilat, Tel Aviv, and Ashkelon.
The Houthi spokesperson reiterated the group’s position that it would continue military operations “in support of the Palestinian people” until Israel halts its military actions in Gaza.
In a statement released earlier in the day, the Israeli military said Houthi forces fired a missile toward Israel, triggering air raid sirens in central and southern parts of the country before it was intercepted. No injuries were reported.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed on Tuesday to retaliate against Yemen’s Houthi forces after the missile attack.
Since November 2023, the Houthi group has launched multiple missile and drone attacks against Israel, asserting these actions are in solidarity with Palestinians in the besieged enclave. The group, which controls much of northern Yemen, has aligned itself politically and militarily with the Palestinian people during the ongoing hostilities between Israel and Hamas.
In response to the attacks, Israel has conducted airstrikes on key infrastructure in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, targeting energy facilities and military sites. These retaliatory strikes have resulted in significant casualties and material damage, according to local Yemeni officials. ■
“As humanitarian assistance and basic services dwindle, people in Gaza have been increasingly deprived of the means for their survival,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters at the UN Headquarters in New York.
It has been 17 weeks since any fuel has entered Gaza, according to Mr. Dujarric – a critical shortage that forced the Al-Shifa Medical Complex to suspend its kidney dialysis services and restrict its intensive care unit services to just a few hours per day.
Other hospitals, including Al-Aqsa in Deir al-Balah, have also come under attack, with the World Health Organization (WHO) reporting a strike on a tent sheltering displaced civilians in its courtyard.
Over the past 48 hours, five school buildings sheltering displaced families were also hit, reportedly causing deaths and injuries, while a new evacuation order issued on Sudan displaced 1,500 families from northern Gaza.
Living in terror
Olga Cherevko, an official at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), described conditions for families in Gaza as “living in terror.”
“The only thing that is on their minds right now is a ceasefire and peace at last,” she said.
Ms. Cherevko called for Israel to open all border crossings and allow a steady and sufficient flow humanitarian aid.
“The thing that needs to happen for us…to address the emergency on the ground, is to reopen additional crossings, to allow supplies to enter through multiple corridors and remove the constraints that are in place for us to deliver supplies to people in need,” she said.
She warned that unless conditions change quickly, essential services will continue to shut down — and the broader humanitarian response could stall entirely.
“If the situation doesn’t change very, very urgently, more such services will continue shutting down,” Ms. Cherevko said.
“And if the situation doesn’t change going forward, the entire humanitarian operation could grind to a halt.”
The text of the following statement was released by the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union.
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We the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union, met in The Hague on June 25, 2025, where we discussed recent events in the Middle East.
We reiterate our support for the ceasefire between Israel and Iran announced by U.S. President Trump, and urge all parties to avoid actions that could further destabilize the region.
We appreciate Qatar’s important role in facilitating the ceasefire and express our full solidarity to Qatar and Iraq following the recent strikes by Iran and its proxies and partners against their territory. We welcome all efforts in the region towards stabilization and de-escalation.
We reaffirm that the Islamic Republic of Iran can never have nuclear weapons, and urge Iran to refrain from reconstituting its unjustified enrichment activities. We call for the resumption of negotiations, resulting in a comprehensive, verifiable and durable agreement that addresses Iran’s nuclear program.
In order to have a sustainable and credible resolution, we call on Iran to urgently resume full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as required by its safeguards obligations and to provide the IAEA with verifiable information about all nuclear material in Iran, including by providing access to IAEA inspectors. We condemn calls in Iran for the arrest and execution of IAEA Director General Grossi.
We underscore the centrality of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime. It is essential that Iran remains party to and fully implements its obligations under the Treaty.
We reiterate our commitment to peace and stability in the Middle East. In this context, we reaffirm that Israel has a right to defend itself. We reiterate our support for the security of Israel.
The Trump administration has raised the possibility of stripping Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic mayoral candidate for New York, of his US citizenship as part of a crackdown against foreign-born citizens convicted of certain offences.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, appeared to pave the way for an investigation into Mamdani’s status after Andy Ogles, a rightwing Republican congressman for Tennessee, called for his citizenship to be revoked on the grounds that he may have concealed his support for “terrorism” during the naturalization process.
Mamdani, 33, who was born in Uganda to ethnic Indian parents, became a US citizen in 2018 and has attracted widespread media attention – and controversy – over his vocal support for Palestinian rights.
Controversy over his immigration status follows a chorus of Islamophobic attacks on his Muslim faith following his apparent victory in last week’s New York mayoral primary, when he finished first in a field that included Andrew Cuomo, the former New York state governor and favored candidate of the Democratic establishment.
It also comes after the Trump administration instructed attorneys to prioritize denaturalizing foreign-born US citizens who had committed specified crimes. A justice department memo instructs lawyers to institute proceedings against naturalized citizens who ares suspected of having “illegally procured” naturalization or having done so by “concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation”.
Ogles wrote to Pam Bondi, the attorney general calling for an investigation into Mamdani after his Democratic mayoral primary victory on the grounds that “he may have procured US citizenship through willful misrepresentation or concealment of material support for terrorism.”
As evidence, he cited a rap song by Mamdani, entitled my love to the Holy Land five, in which he called members of a foundation convicted of supporting Hamas “my guys”. He also referred to Mamdani’s refusal to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada”.
In an accompanying post on X, Ogles wrote: “Zohran ‘little muhammad’ Mamdani is an antisemitic, socialist, communist who will destroy the great City of New York. He needs to be deported.”
Asked about Ogles’s call, Leavitt said: “I have not seen those claims, but surely if they are true, it’s something that should be investigated.”
The justice department has confirmed receiving Ogles’s letter but has not commented further.
Chris Murphy, a Democratic senator for Connecticut who has become one of the Trump administration’s most effective critics, called the demand to denaturalize Mamdani “racist bullshit”.
“Trump will stop at nothing to protect billionaires and price gouging corporations, even racist bullshit like this,” he wrote.
“Zohran won because he ran a campaign laser focused on putting power back in the hands of working people. And that’s a threat to the Mar-a-Lago crowd.”
Mamdani, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, has had his social media posts and previous political activism fiercely scrutinized since last week’s election victory, which was accompanied by promises of leftwing populist policies for New York if he is eventually elected mayor.
Amid a chorus of rightwing vitriol, Donald Trump has called him “a pure communist” and has threatened to cut off funds to New York if Mamdani becomes mayor and “doesn’t behave himself”.
At a news conference at the official unveiling of a new detention centre for immigrants in Florida’s Everglades, Trump reiterated his communist remark and referred to allegations that Mamdani had obtained his citizenship “illegally”.
“We don’t need a communist in this country, but if we have one, I’m going to be watching over him very carefully on behalf of the nation. We send him money, we send him all the things that he needs to run a government,” Trump said.
“We’re going to be watching that very carefully. A lot of people are saying, he’s here illegally. We’re going to look at everything, but ideally, he’s going to turn out to be much less than a communist. Right now he’s a communist, that’s not a socialist.”
Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s feud reignited this week with the former political allies trading sharp public threats of retribution. The blowup, centered around Musk’s opposition to Trump’s signature tax bill as it moves through Congress, ends a period of rapprochement between two of the world’s most powerful men.
Musk posted escalating attacks against the big, beautiful bill on his social media platform X, calling the legislation “insane” and vowing to form a new political party if it passed late Monday. In response, Trump claimed he could “look into” deporting the South Africa-born billionaire, while also suggesting he could cut government subsidies for Musk’s companies or set the so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) on its former leader.
“Doge is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon. Wouldn’t that be terrible?” Trump asked reporters on Tuesday.
Musk’s attempt to derail the tax bill was a major factor in his falling out with the president last month, and the Tesla CEO’s renewed offensive comes at a sensitive time as Trump seeks to shepherd the legislation through Congress. The fight could test Musk’s political influence over the Republican party as he seeks to peel away votes for the bill, as well as further deteriorate his once-close relationship with Trump.
Musk has repeatedly criticized Trump’s sweeping policy bill for its potential to nullify the cuts to the federal government he made through Doge and for the likelihood it will add trillions to the national debt, which he has warned will “bankrupt America” and imperil his dream of reaching Mars. Musk, a top Republican megadonor, intensified his campaign in recent days with threats that he would form his own “America Party” and target lawmakers in upcoming elections who voted for the bill in 2026 primary elections.
“Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame!” Musk posted. “They will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth”.
Trump has rejected Musk’s criticisms of the bill, alleging that the Tesla CEO’s opposition is because the bill would end a tax credit for consumers purchasing electric vehicles.
“Elon’s very upset that the EV mandate is gonna be terminated,” Trump said on Tuesday. “Not everybody wants an electric car. I don’t want an electric car.”
When a reporter asked if Trump is considering deporting Musk, he responded that he didn’t know but would “take a look”. Musk replied to a video of the statement on X, saying “so tempting to escalate this. So, so tempting. But I will refrain for now.” Trump bought a Tesla in March.
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Trump’s remarks were a stark turnaround from only months ago when he hosted a showcase for Tesla on the White House lawn in front of media, during which he encouraged his supporters to buy Musk’s cars and sat in the driver’s seat of a red Model S sedan. In contrast, Trump threatened this week that he could destroy Musk’s businesses.
“Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Monday. “No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE.”
Musk’s companies, especially SpaceX, are closely intertwined with US government agencies and have received billions of dollars in contracts from them. The government has meanwhile come to rely on SpaceX for key parts of its space travel and satellite communications programs, and the company is being considered for a role in building a new multibillion dollar missile defense program. The symbiotic relationship between Musk and the government has made any political tensions sensitive for his businesses, and Tesla’s share price declined on Monday and Tuesday as the feud continued.
Araghchi reported that he had emphasized Tehran’s deep mistrust of the United States during the call. He also condemned the “destructive approach” that “some European countries” and IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi had taken to the recent conflict between Israel and Iran. Their support for Israel and the United States complicates diplomatic efforts, Araghchi said, although he didn’t specify which countries he meant.
The call between Kallas and Araghchi came amid heightened international concern over Iran’s nuclear ambitions following the collapse of its 2015 nuclear deal with the U.S. and Washington’s dramatic June 21 strikes on its nuclear enrichment facilities. That strike snuffed out a nascent effort by European politicians to defuse tensions in talks with Araghchi.
Hostilities between Iran and Israel have also escalated over the past fortnight with a series of strikes and counterstrikes, culminating on Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s declaration of victory in the country’s “Rising Lion” operation to curb Iran’s nuclear capabilities. However, some reports suggest Iran’s nuclear program has been delayed by a few months at most.
A ceasefire announced last week by U.S. President Donald Trump appears to be holding. Netanyahu’s office announced on Tuesday that the Israeli leader will visit the U.S. next week to meet with Trump, underscoring ongoing diplomatic efforts to keep the peace.
