Israel’s military said Saturday it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen, whose Houthi militants have launched attacks throughout the Gaza war, as well as a drone approaching “from the east.”
“Following the sirens that sounded recently in several areas in Israel, a missile that was launched from Yemen was intercepted” before “crossing into Israeli territory,” a military statement said.
In a later statement, it said a drone “that was on its way to Israeli territory from the east was intercepted” by the air force.
Yemen, large parts of which are under the control of the Iran-backed Houthis, is located to Israel’s southeast.
Other countries to Israel’s east include Iraq, where Tehran-aligned militants have claimed a number of attacks targeting Israel since the Gaza war began.
The Houthis have repeatedly launched missiles and drones at Israel since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023 in what they say is a show of solidarity with the Palestinians.
The militants have also targeted ships they accuse of having ties to Israel as they travel on the Red Sea — a vital waterway for global trade.
They had temporarily paused their attacks during a recent two-month ceasefire in Gaza.
According to Israel’s army radio, the missile intercepted overnight was the 22nd fired by the Houthis since they had resumed their attacks as Israel renewed its Gaza offensive on March 18.
Since March 15, Israel’s key ally the United States has stepped up its attacks on the Houthis, targeting militants positions in Yemen with near-daily air strikes.
Israel says intercepted missile launched from Yemen
https://arab.news/jmw2j
Israel says intercepted missile launched from Yemen
- The Houthis, who control large parts of Yemen, have repeatedly fired missiles and drones at Israel since the war in Gaza
UK police studying Glastonbury performances after anti-Israel chants
“We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon,” Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday.
Irish hip-hop group Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan made anti-Israeli chants in separate shows on the West Holts stage on Saturday. One of the members of Bob Vylan chanted “Death, death, to the IDF” in a reference to the Israel Defense Forces.
“Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offenses may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation,” the police statement said.
The Israeli Embassy in Britain said it was “deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said earlier this month it was “not appropriate” for Kneecap to appear at Glastonbury.
The band’s frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offense last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He has denied the charge.
A British government minister said it was appalling that the anti-Israel chants had been made at Glastonbury, and that the festival’s organizers and the BBC broadcaster — which is showing the event — had questions to answer.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
“I’d also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank,” Streeting told Sky News.
“I wish they’d take the violence of their own citizens toward Palestinians more seriously,” he said.
Reed, 4Aces enter final round on top of leaderboard at LIV Golf Dallas
- On a challenging Maridoe Golf Club course, Reed moved to 9 under and takes a three-shot lead after two rounds
CARROLLTON, Texas, US: Since joining LIV Golf, Patrick Reed has 11 top-5 finishes, including five podium results. He has also celebrated seven team victories with his 4Aces GC, including the inaugural 2022 Team Championship, and has twice finished inside the top six in the season-long points race.
But he has yet to win an individual LIV Golf title in his first 41 regular season starts, making him arguably the best league player without a win. And he has yet to win a professional tournament in his home state of Texas, where he was born and still lives.
Now he is 18 holes away from changing both narratives on Sunday at LIV Golf Dallas presented by Aramco.
Thanks to a solid 4-under 68 on a challenging Maridoe Golf Club course, Reed moved to 9 under and will take a 3-shot lead entering the final round. This is his first 36-hole lead since joining LIV Golf for the league’s first US event in Portland in 2022.
“To get my first LIV victory as well as doing it in my home state would mean a lot,” said the Houston resident, who was born in San Antonio. “But really, at the end of the day, instead of trying to focus on what happens on the 54th hole, it’s stay in the moment. Stay in the present.”
His 4Aces team also hope to stay in the present as they seek a first victory since the 2023 tournament in London. The club, captained by Dustin Johnson, has a four-shot lead over Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII and Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC, who have won the previous two LIV Golf team titles. No other team is within 13 shots of the lead.
Reed, meanwhile, has plenty of pursuers, many of whom — like Reed himself — are hungry to win their first individual LIV Golf title.
The Crushers’ Paul Casey shot a 5-under 67 and is tied for second at 6 under with Fireballs GC’s Abraham Ancer, who shot a second consecutive 69. In a four-way tie for fifth at 5 under are Cleeks GC’s Richard Bland, Fireballs’ David Puig, 4Aces’ Harold Varner III and Legion XIII’s Tyrrell Hatton, who produced the low round of the day with a 65. His captain Jon Rahm is alone in eighth at 4 under.
Four of the top seven players have yet to win an LIV Golf tournament — Reed, Casey, Bland and Puig. And Puig is the only player who ranks inside the top 20 in driving distance average this season. Maridoe, despite its 7,533-yard layout, is rewarding the shot-makers this week in the Texas heat.
“If you’re not in the fairway, you’re going to struggle,” Ancer said. “You’re going to make big numbers. Bogeys come really, really quickly, even if you’re in the fairway.”
Ancer should know. He had a rollercoaster round that included seven birdies — including four in a row on his first nine — along with four bogeys and one up-and-down par after an approach shot bounced off the flagstick and rolled off the green at the eighth hole. “I felt like I stayed in it mentally really well,” said the San Antonio resident.
Casey’s round had less drama and ended on a high note with three consecutive birdies. Hatton’s round, on the flip side, started with three straight birdies.
Reed also produced three consecutive birdies and was among the steadiest of performers, hitting 78 percent of his greens in regulation. His challenge on Sunday will be to stay focused on the task at hand.
“The golf game feels pretty solid,” Reed said. “Everything seems to be tight and where I want it to be. The biggest thing is going out there and not trying to press, not trying to force anything and really just go out and try to win the day as if it’s a Monday qualifier.”
And his chasers?
“Looking like the way he’s playing, he’s not going to go backwards,” Bland said. “We’ve got to go get him.”
Team scores
LIV Golf’s new scoring format this season means all four scores count in every round in the team competition. Here are the results and scores for each team after Saturday’s second round of LIV Golf Dallas presented by Aramco.
4ACES GC -12 (Reed 68, Pieters 71, Varner 72, Johnson 74; Rd. 2 score: -3) T2. LEGION XIII -8 (Hatton 65, McKibbin 71, Rahm 72, Surratt 72; Rd. 2 score: -8)
T2. CRUSHERS GC -8 (Casey 67, Howell III 71, DeChambeau 72, Lahiri 73; Rd. 2 score: -5)
T4. STINGER GC +2 (Burmester 71, Grace 71, Oosthuizen 71, Schwartzel 74; Rd. 2 score: -1)
T4. FIREBALLS GC +2 (Ancer 69, Puig 69, Garcia 74, Ballester 76; Rd. 2 score: E)
CLEEKS GC +7 (Bland 69, Rottluff 70, Meronk 72, Kaymer 74; Rd. 2 score: -3) TORQUE GC +14 (Niemann 66, Munoz 70, Ortiz 70, Pereira 79; Rd. 2 score: -3) T8. RIPPER GC +15 (Leishman 70, Herbert 71, Smith 71, Jones 75; Rd. 2 score: -1)
T8. HYFLYERS GC +15 (Steele 69, Tringale 73, Mickelson 74, Ogletree 78; Rd. 2 score: +6)
MAJESTICKS GC +16 (Horsfield 72, Stenson 73, Westwood 75, Poulter 78; Rd. 2 score: +10) RANGEGOATS GC +18 (Campbell 70, Watson 73, Uihlein 75, Schniederjans 78; Rd. 2 score: +8) T12. SMASH GC +22 (Gooch 70, Kokrak 74, McDowell 74, Carrera 77; Rd. 2 score: +7)
T12. IRON HEADS GC +22 (Kozuma 70, Lee 76, Jang 79, Na 79; Rd. 2 score: +16)
Wildcards: C. Lee 71, A. Kim 74
Taiwan VP says not intimidated after alleged China plot
- Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s motorcade was followed, surveilled and nearly hit by a car during a visit to the Czech Republic in 2024
TAIPEI: Taiwan’s vice president said she would not be intimidated by Beijing after the government accused Chinese embassy staff of planning to ram her car during an official visit to Europe.
Taiwan’s top China policy body, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), on Friday said Hsiao Bi-khim’s motorcade was followed, surveilled and nearly hit by a car during a visit to the Czech Republic in March 2024.
Citing a Czech intelligence agency report, the council said staff from the Chinese Embassy in Prague were behind the incident.
“I had a great visit to Prague & thank the Czech authorities for their hospitality & ensuring my safety,” Hsiao, who was vice president-elect at the time of the trip, posted on social media on Saturday.
“The CCP’s unlawful activities will NOT intimidate me from voicing Taiwan’s interests in the international community.”
“Taiwan will not be isolated by intimidation,” she added.
Like most countries, Prague does not have official diplomatic relations with Taipei.
China claims Taiwan as its territory and in recent years, has ramped up the deployment of fighter jets and warships around the self-ruled island. It has also sought to erase Taiwan from the international stage by poaching its diplomatic allies and blocking it from global forums.
Taipei said on Friday that “the Chinese Embassy in the Czech Republic followed, conducted surveillance on, and even attempted to ram the motorcade, seriously threatening the personal safety of Vice President Hsiao and her entourage.”
It added the incident exposed CCP’s “violent nature” and lack of “sincerity” in communication.
A Taiwan security official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said it was a “typical case” of China’s “transnational repression” against dissidents or those who criticize China.
“China uses legal grey areas to harass, threaten or oppress their targets,” the official said.
The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), an international group that has challenged Beijing’s human rights record, said in a statement signed by 51 lawmakers from nearly 30 countries that it supported Hsiao and “Taiwanese citizens who may be subject to coercion by the Chinese state while traveling abroad.”
China’s foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Friday that Prague had violated the “One-China principle” and its political commitments to China by allowing Hsaio, who it called a diehard “Taiwan independence” activist, to visit.
“Chinese diplomats always abide by the laws and regulations of host countries,” he said. He urged other countries not to be exploited by “Taiwan independence” separatists to “stir up troubles” and undermine the relations with China.
Trump calls for deal on Gaza war as signs of progress emerge
- ‘MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!’ Trump wrote on his social media platform
- The Israeli military on Sunday ordered a mass evacuation of Palestinians in large swathes of northern Gaza
TEL AVIV: US President Donald Trump on Sunday pleaded for progress in ceasefire talks in the war in Gaza, calling for a deal that would halt the fighting in the 20-monthlong conflict as the sides appeared to be inching closer to an agreement.
An Israeli official said plans were being made for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to travel to Washington, D.C., in the coming weeks, a sign there may be movement on a new deal. The official declined to discuss the focus of the visit and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss plans that had not yet been finalized.
“MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social early Sunday between posts about a Senate vote on his tax and spending cuts bill.
Trump raised expectations Friday for a deal, saying there could be a ceasefire agreement within the next week. Taking questions from reporters, he said, “We’re working on Gaza and trying to get it taken care of.”
Trump has repeatedly called for Israel and Hamas to end the war in Gaza. Despite an eight-week ceasefire reached just as Trump was taking office earlier this year, attempts since then to bring the sides toward a new agreement have failed.
A top adviser to Netanyahu, Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, was set to travel to Washington this week for talks on a ceasefire.
Trump post slams Netanyahu corruption trial
The Gaza message wasn’t the only Middle East-related post by Trump. On Saturday evening, he doubled down on his criticism of the legal proceedings against Netanyahu, who is on trial for alleged corruption, calling it “a POLITICAL WITCH HUNT, very similar to the Witch Hunt that I was forced to endure.”
In the post on Truth Social, he said the trial interfered with talks on a Gaza ceasefire.
“(Netanyahu) is right now in the process of negotiating a Deal with Hamas, which will include getting the Hostages back. How is it possible that the Prime Minister of Israel can be forced to sit in a Courtroom all day long, over NOTHING,” Trump wrote.
The post echoed similar remarks Trump made last week when he called for the trial to be canceled. It was a dramatic interference by an international ally in the domestic affairs of a sovereign state. And it unnerved many in Israel, despite Trump’s popularity in the country.
Israeli military orders new evacuations in northern Gaza
The Israeli military on Sunday ordered a mass evacuation of Palestinians in large swathes of northern Gaza, an early target of the war that has been severely damaged by multiple rounds of fighting.
Col. Avichay Adraee, a military spokesperson, posted the order on social media. It includes multiple neighborhoods in eastern and northern Gaza City, as well as Jabaliya refugee camp.
The military will expand its escalating attacks to the city’s northern section, calling for people to move southward to the Muwasi area in southern Gaza, Adraee said.
After being all but emptied earlier in the war, hundreds of thousands of people are in northern Gaza following their return during a ceasefire earlier this year.
An Israeli military offensive currently underway aims to move Palestinians to southern Gaza so forces can more freely operate to combat militants. Rights groups say their movement would amount to forcible transfer.
A sticking point over how the war ends
The war in Gaza began with Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas in which militants killed 1,200 people and took roughly 250 hostages, about 50 of whom remain captive with less than half believed to be alive.
Israel’s retaliatory response has killed more than 56,000 people, according to local health authorities, who do not distinguish between militants and civilians in their count but say more than half of the dead are women and children.
The war has set off a humanitarian catastrophe, displaced most of Gaza’s population, often multiple times, and obliterated much of the territory’s urban landscape.
Talks between Israel and Hamas have repeatedly faltered over one major sticking point, whether the war should end as part of any ceasefire agreement.
Hamas says it is willing to free all the hostages in exchange for a full withdrawal of Israeli troops and an end to the war. Israel rejects that offer, saying it will agree to end the war if Hamas disarms and goes into exile, something the group refuses.
Germany backs Israel after Iran war in first high-level visit
BAT YAM: German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt expressed support for Israel on Sunday during a visit to the site of an Iranian missile strike near Tel Aviv, part of the destruction left by this month’s 12-day war.
It was the first visit by a senior foreign official since the war between Iran and Israel, which ended on Tuesday after a ceasefire was announced.
“We must deepen our support for Israel,” Dobrindt said, speaking amid the rubble in Bat Yam, south of the coastal hub of Tel Aviv, where an Iranian strike killed nine people including three children.
Israel launched a bombing campaign against Iran on June 13, saying it was aimed at keeping the Islamic republic from developing a nuclear weapon — an ambition Tehran has consistently denied.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called the German visit a gesture of “solidarity” and urged the international community to reimpose sanctions on Iran.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on June 17, on the sidelines of a G7 summit in Canada, said Israel was doing the “dirty work... for all of us” by targeting Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
Israel has acknowledged being hit by more than 50 missiles during the 12-day war with Iran, resulting in 28 deaths, but the true extent of the damage may never be known due to stringent media restrictions.
In Iran, Israeli strikes killed at least 627 civilians and injured nearly 4,900, according to official figures.
