Main events on May 3rd

• An Israeli attack on Khan Younis in southern Gaza has killed at least 11 people, including two one-year-olds and a one-month-old baby, Gaza’s Civil Defence says.
• The attack comes as Israeli forces killed at least 39 Palestinians in Gaza on Saturday, medical sources have told Al Jazeera.
• Exclusive images obtained by Al Jazeera show humanitarian aid piling up at the border of the Gaza Strip as Israel’s total blockade on the enclave enters a third month.
• Al Jazeera has obtained exclusive images taken on Saturday morning showing humanitarian aid piling up near the Egyptian city of El Arish.
• The Israeli military has issued call-up notices to thousands of reservists to support an expansion of its attack on Gaza.
• The Hind Rajab Foundation says it identified the Israeli military unit and commander who killed the six-year-old Palestinian girl, her family members and two medics who tried to save her in January 2024.

‘International law no longer exists’: US Muslim group

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has condemned global inaction in the face of Israel’s blockade of Gaza, which – as we’ve been reporting – has killed dozens of Palestinians, including children.

In a statement, the US-based advocacy group denounced the death of a Palestinian baby, Janan Saleh al-Sakafi, as a result of the “Israeli-imposed – and US-supported – forced starvation”.

The US provides at least $3.8bn in military assistance to Israel annually, and it has provided billions more during the Israeli military’s Gaza bombardment.

“If Israel’s genocidal campaign of forced starvation can be carried out with impunity and with our own government’s support, international law no longer exists,” CAIR said, urging Washington to take action.

“Israel can seemingly violate all international laws and norms with an impunity that does not apply to any other nation on the planet. If international law is to have any meaning, the Trump administration and the world community must act immediately to stop Israel’s forced starvation, state terrorism, slaughter, mass destruction, and ethnic cleansing.”


Palestinian ambassador says ‘mass starvation’ at heart of Israel’s war

Husam Zomlot, the State of Palestine’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, has said that “mass starvation is Israel’s method of war” in the Gaza Strip.

“Still some politicians find ways to cover up for these crimes against humanity. Shame!” he wrote in a post on X.

Rebuilding #Gaza is not just about structures. It is about understanding the enormous trauma Palestinian children in Gaza have suffered. It is about healing, psychologically, as well as physically.
 
It is about hope, about engendering a sense that the future is worth living… pic.twitter.com/jS76MrY0Nz

— Husam Zomlot (@hzomlot) May 3, 2025

Houthi-affiliated media reports new US attacks on Yemen

The Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV is reporting that US air raids have continued across Yemen overnight.

The latest attacks included 10 air strikes on the al-Hazm district in Yemen’s al-Jawf governorate and five air strikes on the Majzar district of Marib governorate, according to Al Masirah.

The US launched an intensified campaign of air strikes on Yemen last month in what it says is an effort to deter Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea. The Houthis have continued with their attacks, saying they will only stop once Israel’s war on Gaza ends.

Israeli military warns of missile from Yemen

In a post on Telegram, Israel’s military says it has identified a missile heading towards Israel from Yemen that has set sirens off across the country. Israeli air defences are working to shoot down the projectile, the military said, adding that people should follow instructions from the Home Front Command.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have frequently waged attacks on Israel during the war in Gaza, acting out of what they say is solidarity with Palestinians in the enclave.

Six injured in missile attack on Ben Gurion airport: Report

The Times of Israel newspaper, citing the national emergency service, says six people have been wounded in the missile attack on Ben Gurion airport.

Those hurt include an elderly man who was hit by debris flung from the impact site and another man suffering from limb trauma. There are also several women lightly injured from shockwave effects, said the media report.

Entrances closed to Ben Gurion airport, public urged to stay away: Report

Photos and footage verified by Al Jazeera show damage near Ben Gurion airport, including to a road structure and a vehicle, reportedly struck by falling metal rods. The Israel Hayom newspaper reported that all entrances to the airport are closed, and the police have urged people to stay away from it.

Footage shows missile crash, crater at Ben Gurion airport

Video footage seen by Al Jazeera shows the moment a missile struck the grounds of the airport in Tel Aviv. The clip, filmed by a group driving on a nearby road and verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking agency, captures an explosion followed by a large plume of smoke rising into the sky.

A separate video, shared by the Israel Hayom newspaper, shows a massive crater at the impact site.

המכתש שנפער בזירת הנפילה pic.twitter.com/T9z4672vqi

— ישראל היום (@IsraelHayomHeb) May 4, 2025

Houthi attack reminds Israelis ‘they are vulnerable’

This is the fourth Houthi missile attack on Israel in the last few days. The idea that Houthis can fire a missile from 2,000km (more than 1,240 miles) away and attack Israel after weeks of very intense US air strikes on Yemen is extraordinary.

They have been hammering the armed group, and yet the Houthis can still do this – hit a target in one of the most heavily defended countries on earth. Israel’s defence system is extremely advanced and is getting better with each wave of conflict.

The attack reminds the Israelis that they are vulnerable.

Israel’s Ben Gurion airport resumes operations: Reports

The Times of Israel, citing the Israel Airports Authority, reports that the Ben Gurion airport has reopened after an hourlong closure following a missile attack from Yemen. “Takeoffs and landings have returned to normal,” it reported. Train service to the airport has also resumed, reports Israel’s Channel 12.

Israel’s Gantz calls for ‘harsh response’ to Iran after missile attack

Israeli MP and former war cabinet minister Benny Gantz has blamed Iran for being behind the missile attack launched from Yemen, without offering any evidence.

“This isn’t Yemen – it’s Iran,” said Gantz in a post on X, urging a “harsh response”.

“It is Iran that is firing ballistic missiles at the State of Israel, and it must be held accountable,” he said. “The Israeli government must wake up and not return to the days of ‘drip’ attacks.”

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim missile attack on Israel’s Ben Gurion airport

In a statement on Telegram, Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree says the group carried out a “hypersonic ballistic missile” strike targeting Ben Gurion International Airport outside Tel Aviv this morning.

The statement claimed the strike “successfully hit its target” and urged international airlines to avoid the “unsafe” airport.

The Houthis carried out the assault “in support of the oppressed Palestinian people” and to counter Israel’s “crime of genocide” in Gaza, according to the statement.


Missile attack on Ben Gurion ’embarrassing’ for Israeli defence establishment

Ori Goldberg, a Tel Aviv-based political commentator, says the missile attack on the Ben Gurion airport complex is “very embarrassing” for Israel given how much stock it has placed in its strategic defences.

“Israel has been trumpeting the achievements of its Iron Dome system and its more advanced strategic missile defence systems to the world,” Goldberg told Al Jazeera. “This was supposed to be the one area of military activity where Israel could claim success. So this is very embarrassing.”

He also brought up the implications of the attack’s resounding impact on Israeli life.

“You have one missile being shot from Yemen – it could do a lot of damage, but it’s still one missile,” he said. “And one missile is enough to rock Israel to its core. This should give you an indication of how weak the structural foundations of Israeli society and of Israeli institutions like the military are at the moment.”

Israel’s Katz promises to respond to Houthi missile attack sevenfold

Defence Minister Israel Katz has pledged to fiercely respond to the missile attack on the Ben Gurion airport complex. “Anyone who hits us, we will hit them seven times stronger,” he said in a statement.

Several international airlines cancel flights to Israel after Houthi attack

Lufthansa, Air Europa, Air France, Austrian and Swiss Airlines have decided not to operate flights today to and from Tel Aviv after a ballistic missile from Yemen struck an area at the country’s main Ben Gurion airport, according to The Times of Israel.

Hungarian low-cost airline giant Wizz Air announced the cancellation of its flights to Israel for the next 48 hours, the daily reported.

The cancellations come despite the reopening of the airport an hour after the attack.

El Al Airlines says it will launch repatriation flights after Tel Aviv cancellations

The Israeli carrier says it will begin flights to Israel from Larnaca and Athens for passengers stranded out of the country. El Al added the flights will cost of $99 and $149, respectively.

The announcement comes after many international carriers cancelled flights for several days after a missile launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels landed near Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport.


Netanyahu could use airport attack to build consensus against Iran

Today’s Houthi missile attack against Israel’s main international airport is a “red line” for Israelis that Netanyahu could use to build consensus for potential action against Iran, says Israeli political commentator Akiva Eldar.

“Of course it goes all the way to Iran,” Eldar told Al Jazeera. “What Netanyahu is seeking more than anything is legitimacy to attack, to strike Gaza and to strike Iran.”

However, much will also depend on the reaction of Israel’s main ally, the US, as Trump has been wary of direct confrontation with Iran. “We know that if Trump had given Netanyahu a green light to attack … we would be speaking about a regional war between Israel and Iran,” said Eldar.

Israeli PM promises more attacks against the Houthis

Netanyahu has released a video message addressing the Houthi rocket attack this morning on Ben Gurion International Airport. In the message, Netanyahu said Israel has acted against the Houthis in coordination with the US.

“We’ve acted against them in the past, and we’ll act against them again in the future. It’s not a ‘one-and-done’ – but there will be blows,” he said.

Since they see everyone as Hamas, it means total genocide. Besides that, Hamas has been filling their ranks back up.

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/hamas-has-added-up-15000-fighters-since-start-war-us-figures-show-2025-01-24/

Israel’s army chief issues orders to reservists to expand Gaza war

Israel’s army chief Eyal Zamir says the military has issued orders to call up tens of thousands of reservists to expand the war on Gaza.

“We are issuing tens of thousands of call-up orders for reserve soldiers in order to strengthen and expand operations in Gaza. We are increasing the pressure with the aim of recovering our personnel and deciding the battle against Hamas,” Zamir said in a statement.

Zamir said last week the war’s escalation will deal a “decisive blow” to Hamas in Gaza. “We will use all the strength at our disposal, increase the pace of operations, and intensify their power,” he said.

Lebanon says Hamas hands over member suspected of launching rockets at Israel

Lebanon’s military says Hamas has handed over one of its Lebanon-based members suspected of launching rockets towards Israel in March.

The suspect was transferred at the entrance of the Ein el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon’s Sidon and is now under investigation, according to a Lebanese military statement.

The detention followed a government directive aimed at preventing actions that risk pulling Lebanon into a regional conflict, according to the military.

Israel’s attacks on Syria part of its ‘new vision’ for the Middle East

Labib al-Nahhas, director of the Syrian Association for Citizens’ Dignity, says Israel’s claim that it is launching attacks on Syria to protect the Druze community is just a “false pretext” for a land grab.

“Their official narrative that they’re there to protect the Druze needs to be taken with a pinch of salt, because Druze themselves within Israel are considered second-class citizens. So that cannot be the genuine intention,” al-Nahhas told Al Jazeera.

He said “a new Israel” emerged after the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas-led fighters.

“The Israel we see is the most expansionist, aggressive, and hostile that we’ve seen since 1967. It has said it won’t stop the war until Syria has been partitioned. [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu has said they’ll establish their own buffer zone without any Syrian military presence,” said al-Nahhas.

“So what we’re seeing here is Israel trying to shape Syria to its liking in a way that Syria will remain weak, decentralised, and won’t pose any threat to Israel in the coming months and years. This intervention plays to the interests and new vision of Israel in the region.”

Connection between Israeli wildfires and ‘green colonialism’

Researchers say Israel’s worst wildfires were exacerbated by non-native tree species that authorities planted. The country has implemented the policy for decades to cover dispossessed Palestinian villages with forests.

US senator urges probe into 2023 Israeli attack on journalists in Lebanon

Peter Welch has used World Press Freedom Day to renew his call for an investigation into a deadly Israeli attack on a group of journalists reporting in southern Lebanon in October 2023.

Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah was killed in the attack and at least six others, including two Al Jazeera journalists, were wounded. A US journalist with the AFP news agency, Dylan Collins, was among those injured.

In a post on X, Welch said the US government must investigate “this terrible attack on an American journalist”.

Rights groups condemned the deadly incident as a direct attack on civilians that must be investigated as a war crime. “This is an unlawful and apparently deliberate attack on a very visible group of journalists,” Human Rights Watch said at the time.

Dylan Collins is a Vermonter and a journalist who was wounded by Israeli Defense Forces while reporting in Southern Lebanon.

On World Press Freedom Day, I'm continuing to demand that the U.S. government investigate this terrible attack on an American journalist.

— Senator Peter Welch (@SenPeterWelch) May 3, 2025

Saturday would have been Hind Rajab’s seventh birthday

As we reported earlier, the Hind Rajab Foundation says it has identified the Israeli soldiers responsible for killing Hind Rajab, her family members and the medics sent to rescue her.

The foundation, named in the Palestinian girl’s honour, says it chose to release the information on Saturday because it would have been her seventh birthday.

“Today, Hind should have been blowing out candles. Instead, we are naming her killer,” said Dyab Abou Jahjah, the co-founder of the foundation. “This is only the beginning. We are coming for every name, every link in the chain, with the law and with truth,” he added.

Hind was killed alongside several of her relatives after the Israeli military opened fire on their vehicle in Gaza City in early 2024. The young girl had survived the initial attack and had begged for help in a phone call with paramedics. But Israel bombed an ambulance crew trying to rescue her.


_{Hind Rajab would have turned seven on Saturday}

Major blow to IDF as NGO reveals commander’s identity, approaches world court

Hind Rajab Foundation, an NGO named after the six-year-old Palestinian angel who lost her life in Gaza in January last year, has claimed to finally identify the IDF commander and his unit responsible for her death. The foundation has approached the International Criminal Court seeking arrest warrants against the commander and others. Rifat Jawaid analyses the development with his sharp commentary. 

Israeli forces arrest Palestinian workers in Bethlehem

The Palestinians were on their way to their workplaces in Jerusalem when they were arrested near Wadi Fukin village, west of Bethlehem, Wafa reports.

Israeli soldiers also seized a vehicle, Wafa added.

_{Israeli border police officers detain Palestinian men near the barrier in an East Jerusalem neighbourhood on Friday}

Nine Palestinians arrested by Israeli forces in occupied West Bank

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office (ASRA) has said in a statement that most of today’s arrests came in the governorate of Hebron, where six Palestinians were arrested, including four men in the city of Hebron and two children in the town of Beit Ummar.

In the governorate of Tulkarem, two Palestinian men were arrested in the city of Tulkarem and its Shuweika suburb, who were identified by ASRA as “former prisoners”.

One more person was arrested in the city of Jericho, the statement said.

Israeli soldiers, settlers raid home of Hebron activist featured in BBC film The Settlers

Palestinian activist Issa Amro says Israeli soldiers and settlers have raided his home in Hebron after he took part in the BBC documentary The Settlers. It features Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are illegal under international law.

In a post on X, Amro shared footage showing a group of settlers harassing him and trying to push their way into his property. He said they stole items and assaulted one person. According to Amro, Israeli soldiers who arrived at the scene threatened him against filing a complaint about the settlers’ actions.

He said the soldiers were seeking “revenge” for his role in the BBC film, which has received critical acclaim for its portrayal of the Israeli settler movement.

. @Issaamro who featured in The Settlers has posted videos of his latest harassment by settlers and soldiers. Our team has been in regular contact with him since the documentary and over the last 24 hours. We are continuing to monitor the situation. https://t.co/asEWKkVX5h

— Louis Theroux (@louistheroux) May 4, 2025

Another prisoner dies in Israeli custody: Prisoners’ group

Mohey al-Din Fahmi Saeed Nijim, a native of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, has died in Israeli custody, according to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS).

Nijim, a 60-year-old father of six, was arrested in August 2023 and held in the Negev prison, where he did not receive adequate health treatment as his condition deteriorated, Wafa reported, citing the group.

“He was held behind bars without any trial or charges under ‘administrative detention’ for close to two years, before he was martyred today,” PPS said. “He is one of hundreds of sick prisoners subjected to systematic slow killings in Israeli prisons.

His death brings the total number of Palestinian prisoners who have died in Israeli custody during the Gaza war to at least 66, according to PPS.

Israel’s total blockade: What does international law stipulate?

The Fourth Geneva Conventions of 1949 form the basis of what’s known as international humanitarian law (IHL), or the laws of war. Among other things, they include obligations that occupying powers hold towards civilians living in occupied territory.

In the case of Gaza, the Palestinian territory is considered to be occupied and Israel is the occupying power.

Article 55 of the Fourth Geneva Conventions states that “to the fullest extent of the means available to it, the Occupying Power has the duty of ensuring the food and medical supplies of the population; it should, in particular, bring in the necessary foodstuffs, medical stores and other articles if the resources of the occupied territory are inadequate”.

Article 59 also stipulates that if the population of an occupied territory does not have adequate supplies, the occupying power “shall agree to relief schemes on behalf of the said population, and shall facilitate them by all the means at its disposal”.

It adds that those schemes can be organised by states or humanitarian groups and “shall consist, in particular, of the provision of consignments of foodstuffs, medical supplies and clothing”.

“All Contracting Parties shall permit the free passage of these consignments and shall guarantee their protection,” it says.

‘Beyond imagination’: Israel’s total siege on Gaza enters ninth week

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, says there “must be a concerted international effort” to stop the “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza from “reaching a new unseen level”.

In a post on X, UNRWA said the humanitarian situation is now “beyond imagination”, with the “complete blocking of supplies essential for survival” now in its ninth week.

The humanitarian situation throughout the #Gaza Strip is beyond imagination.

As the complete blocking of supplies essential for survival enters its ninth week, there must be a concerted international effort to stop this humanitarian catastrophe from reaching a new unseen level.… pic.twitter.com/lYVBOydWqU

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) May 4, 2025

More than 3,500 children under 5 ‘face imminent death by starvation’ in Gaza: Media Office

Gaza’s Government Media Office says more than 70,000 children are being hospitalised in the enclave due to severe malnutrition as Israel prevents the entry of baby formula, nutritional supplements and all forms of humanitarian aid.

“Under this systematic blockade, more than 3,500 children under the age of five face imminent death by starvation, while approximately 290,000 children are on the brink of death,” the statement published on Telegram said.

“At a time when 1.1 million children daily lack the minimum nutritional requirements for survival, this crime is being perpetrated by the ‘Israeli’ occupation using starvation as a weapon, amid shameful international silence,” it added.

_{Mona al-Raqab cares for her son Osama, five, whose cystic fibrosis has worsened since the start of the war, she says, due to the lack of meat, fish and enzyme tablets to help him digest food}

Seven new child malnutrition cases as Gaza situation worsens

Attacks continue across the Gaza Strip, where at least 23 Palestinians have been killed since dawn. There was an air strike on a tent where at least 10 Palestinians were killed – seven victims were children and women. Health workers say the situation in hospitals is collapsing.

Meanwhile, very little food is available, and what remains is extremely expensive. People cannot afford it with prices 100 percent higher than what they used to be. Palestinians tell us most of the hot-meal kitchens they used to depend on are closed or have been attacked by Israeli forces. People are walking the streets looking for food. Parents are unable to feed their children.

Health officials at Nasser Hospital reported seven new malnutrition cases just in the past few hours. Parents did not even know their children were malnourished but displayed symptoms such as headaches and vomiting.

Palestinians collect water in Jabalia refugee camp

_{Israel has destroyed almost all infrastructure meant to provide access to clean water in Gaza}

_{Children walk past a large puddle containing waste water in the camp}

Israel turned Gaza into a testing lab for enforced starvation and dehydration

One of the displaced people we spoke to in Gaza City told us that it seemed like Israel turned Gaza into a testing lab. It not only keeps dropping bombs on civilians and displaced people, but it is also testing how far it can push people when it comes to starvation and dehydration.

The fact that we haven’t seen for the past 62 days any food, water or medicine allowed into Gaza is an indication that the Strip has for real turned into a testing lab for enforced starvation and dehydration.

Due to the Israeli blockade, 3,000 aid trucks are stuck at the border, just a 30-minute drive away from where I am standing right now.

On the right side of me, there is a displacement camp. Its coordinator has received news from a local community kitchen that provided them meals in the past days. The kitchen said it would be very difficult to provide them with any meals as of today. Many of these people here, if not all of them, are going to go through today without any food.

This is the story across Gaza, where many of the community kitchens are shutting down.

_{Displaced Palestinians, including children, crowd to receive hot meals distributed by charities in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on May 3}