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Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a house, in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on May 14, 2025.
HARD NUMBERS: Israeli air strike in Gaza kills 50, Houthis try and fail to hit Israel, Al Qaeda-linked group kills Burkina Faso soldiers, Uruguayan liberal hero dies, Brazil’s secret cash cow
50: An Israeli air strike in Northern Gaza killed at least 50 on Tuesday night, including 22 children and 15 women, according to an Indonesian hospital operating in the area. Israel has ramped up its latest Gaza offensive, with its security cabinet reportedly approving a plan to “capture” the enclave.
3: The Iran-backed Houthi rebels fired three missiles at Israel during a 24-hour period spanning Tuesday and Wednesday, two of which were intercepted. Israel seems ready to respond, ordering a trio of Yemeni ports to be evacuated.
60: An Al Qaeda affiliate killed 60 Burkina Faso soldiers in the country’s northern Loroum province, amid mounting tensions in a place that has been roiled by an Islamist insurgency for nearly a decade. It’s not clear when exactly the attacks took place.
89: Uruguay’s former president José Mujica, renowned for his humble lifestyle, died at the age of 89. He had cancer of the esophagus. Once the leader of a violent guerilla group in the 1960s, he served 15 years in prison before eventually becoming president in 2010. He earned cult status among liberals worldwide when he became the first leader to legalize weed.
80%: Zebus, an Indian cow breed renowned for its humped back and turkey wattle, now comprise 80% of Brazil’s total cattle herd. They are more resistant to heat and parasites than their European cousins, allowing them to proliferate, which in turn has helped Brazil become the largest net exporter of food.
Thousands of Yemenis gather in Sanaa's Al-Sabeen Square to demonstrate unwavering solidarity with Palestine and vehemently denounce Israel and the US. Organized by the Houthis, the protest included chants against Israeli actions in Palestine, with demonstrators pledging steadfast support for Palestinians amid regional tensions.
Trump reaches pact with Houthis, a positive sign for US-Iran talks
President Donald Trump said this week the US campaign against the Houthis is done for now. “They have capitulated,” he said, “but more importantly… they say they will not be blowing up ships anymore.”
The Houthis from the Signal chat? The very same. The Trump administration in March ramped up bombings of the Iran-backed group – which controls much of Yemen – to stop its ongoing attacks on ships in the Red Sea, a critical global trade artery.
The Houthis began attacking ships in October 2023 in an act of solidarity with Hamas, protesting Israel’s war in Gaza.
Why did the Houthis stop? Not necessarily because of the US airstrikes alone, says Gregory Brew, an Iran expert at Eurasia Group.
“The US hit the Houthis dozens of times,” he said, “but failed to do serious damage to the group’s capabilities.”
Rather, Tehran reportedly pushed the Houthis towards the US pact, a positive sign for US-Iran relations, Brew says. The US and Iran meet for a fourth round of talks on Iran’s nuclear program this weekend.
Meanwhile: the Houthis and Israel continue to clash. Israel leveled Yemen’s main airport this week after a Houthi missile landed near Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv. Israel is, notably, excluded from the US-Houthi pact.Debris of missiles spread on highway near the Ben Gurion Airport in Israel\'s Tel Aviv as it is hit by a ballistic missile launch from Houthis in Yemen on Sunday May 4, 2025.
Houthi rebels strike Tel Aviv airport, Israel expands Gaza operation
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels launched a hypersonic ballistic missile at Tel Aviv Sunday, striking close to the main runway of Ben Gurion Airport. The strike injured four and shut down air traffic in the morning. The Houthis have repeatedly attacked Israel and maritime traffic in the Red Sea since November 2023, a month after Hamas launched its Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the airport strike and vowed retaliation against both the Houthis and their Iranian “masters” “at a time of [Israel’s] choosing.” Officials are investigating why the country’s Iron Dome defense system did not intercept the missile, while several airlines have suspended flights to the airport for the coming days.
A warning shot over Gaza? The strike comes the morning after the Israel Defense Forces called up tens of thousands of reservists Saturday evening to expand operations in Gaza. The mobilization is one of the largest in recent history and came after the most recent failure to secure a deal for the release of Israeli hostages and bodies of hostages still held by Hamas.
On Sunday, Netanyahu criticized Qatari mediators for not using their influence to pressure Hamas to accept the most recent hostage deal, and on Monday, Israel's Cabinet voted to ramp up the offensive against Hamas in Gaza.
National Security Adviser Mike Waltz walks to board Marine One at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on April 3, 2025.
Michael Waltz runs out of time in Washington, headed for UN post
Waltz out of step. Though the former congressman wasn’t the one who shared war plans on the chat – US Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth holds that honor – he ultimately took responsibility. President Donald Trump initially seemed willing to give Waltz a second chance, but it turned out that the national security adviser had created several other Signal chats to discuss foreign policy.
The original Signal faux-pas also raised questions over the exact nature of Waltz’s relationship with The Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg. Neither Waltz nor Goldberg would comment on it.
History repeats itself. Trump fired former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn just 22 days into his first term. The president reportedly regretted this decision, so was reluctant to remove Waltz this time, and instead landed on a reshuffle.
Hegseth gets away with it – for now. The former Fox News host seems to have escaped punishment, even though it emerged that he also shared war plans with his wife, brother, and lawyer in a separate Signal chat. A former Pentagon spokesperson also said the Department of Defense has been in “total chaos” under his leadership. Trump has thus far backed Hegseth, although he hedged on whether he had full confidence in him during an ABC News interview that aired on Tuesday.
A full plate for Rubio. The former Florida senator entered the administration as the secretary of state, but he now counts USAID administrator and the acting National Security role in his portfolio. Whether he lasts in this trio of roles for long is another matter — the Miami native has long had presidential ambitions, which he could pursue in 2028.President Donald Trump looks on as military strikes are launched against Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis over the group's attacks against Red Sea shipping, at an unspecified location in this handout image released March 15, 2025.
US strikes Houthi strongholds, seeks to keep shipping lanes open
The United States launched widespread strikes on the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen on Saturday, killing 53 people and injuring 98 as it targeted military sites and a power station in the rebel group’s southwest stronghold. The attacks were the largest US military operation since President Donald Trump returned to office.
“To Iran: Support for the Houthi terrorists must end IMMEDIATELY! Do NOT threaten the American People, their President, who has received one of the largest mandates in Presidential History, or Worldwide shipping lanes,” Trump posted on social. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged the US to halt the airstrikes, while Gen. Hossein Salami denied that Iran was involved in Houthi offensives.
The United States has been part of a Saudi-led coalition that has fought the Houthis since 2014, but tensions have been especially frayed ever since the Yemenite rebel group started ambushing Israeli ships that passed through the Red Sea shortly after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, disrupting a hefty portion of global trade. There has been calm in the region ever since Israel and Hamas brokered a ceasefire deal in January, but the Houthis on Tuesday said they would restart their guerilla campaign on the water.
Don’t expect a truce soon: Once the leader of the coalition against the Houthis, Saudi Arabia now seems to be on the sidelines, leaving the US to lead the fight against the Iran-aligned group — and the Trump administration has pledged to continue strikes over the next few days. The Houthi resistance has been stubborn for some time, and the militants have promised to retaliate, so the Americans might have their work cut out as they seek to maintain a vital shipping pipeline.
“A few days of strikes will probably not bring about an end to the Houthis’ attacks,” counterterrorism expert Thomas S. Warrick wrote. “Unless the Trump administration is prepared to go even further.”
Smoke rises after Israeli strikes near Sanaa airport, in Sanaa, Yemen, on Dec. 26, 2024.
Israel hits the Houthis: Is this the opening of a bigger campaign?
Israel on Thursday struck military sites and power infrastructure across parts of Yemen controlled by the Houthi militia.
The move is the latest in an escalating tit-for-tat between Israel and the Iran-backed rebels who control most of Yemen and have launched several missiles and drones at Israel over the past week alone.
The Houthis pledged solidarity with Hamas in the days after the group’s attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and have attacked Israel directly as well as ships in the Red Sea since then.
Earlier this week, Israel threatened to kill the group’s leaders after a Houthi missile landed in a Tel Aviv playground.
Is this just a prelude? Israel in recent months has severely hobbled Iran’s other two main regional proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah, killing the leaders of both groups. Is Israel gearing up for a bigger campaign against the last relatively unscathed part of Iran’s “axis of resistance”?A view shows an explosion following Israeli strikes, in Hodeidah, Yemen, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video released on September 29, 2024.
Israel targets Houthis while Hezbollah looks for new leadership
Israel struck Houthi targets in Yemen on Sunday, including power stations and the seaport of Hodeidah. The offensive came after Houthis fired three missiles at Israel in the past two weeks, signaling Israel’s readiness to engage in a larger regional war against Iranian-backed groups and regimes.
“Our message is clear — no place is too far,” said Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant after the strikes. Nevertheless, US President Joe Biden reiterated on Sunday that an all-out war “has to be” avoided and pledged to speak with Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu.
But Netanyahu already told world leaders at the United Nations on Friday that Israel will “continue degrading Hezbollah” until it is able to secure communities on its border with Lebanon and will continue fighting Hamas until “total victory” is achieved. Netanyahu depicted the conflict as one between Israel and Iran, and said “In this battle between good and evil, there must be no equivocation.”
Who will lead Hezbollah?
Shortly after Netanyahu’s address at UNGA on Friday, an Israeli strike killed longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut. His death leaves a power vacuum that won’t be easy to fill, especially since Hezbollah’s leadership has been decimated in recent Israeli attacks. Two leading contenders are Hashem Safieddine, head of Hezbollah’s executive council and Nasrallah’s cousin, and Naim Qassem, Hezbollah’s deputy secretary-general since 1991, a longtime Shia activist and close ally of Nasrallah. Hezbollah’s shura council will convene in the coming days to decide who will take the reins.
We’re watching how the expanding war and newly opened power vacuum upset regional stability.
People, mainly Houthi supporters, rally to mark the anniversary of the birth of the Prophet Mohammad and to show solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in Sanaa, Yemen, September 15, 2024.
Netanyahu vows retaliation against Houthis, Hezbollah threatens war
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday vowed that the Houthis would pay a “heavy price” after a missile fired from Yemen struck central Israel. The Houthis credited the ability of new hypersonic ballistic missiles to evade interception by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system and warned of more strikes ahead of the anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks “in solidarity with the Palestinians.”
Hamas welcomed the strike, which represents an escalation from Houthi aggression against Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since November. The group had previously also fired missiles at the Israeli port city of Eilat and struck Tel Aviv with a drone in July, killing one man and wounding four others.
Also this weekend, Hezbollah’s deputy leader, Naim Qassem, warned Israel that a full-scale war on Lebanon would result in “large losses on both sides” and further displacement of Israelis. Qassem made the remarks after Israel’s Channel 13 reported that Netanyahu was “on the verge” of launching a “broad and strong operation” on the country’s northern border with Lebanon. The Israeli military reported Saturday that it struck Hezbollah “weapons storage facilities” in Lebanon after “a barrage of 55 projectiles” were fired from Lebanese to Israeli territory earlier that morning. We’re watching for signs of further escalation.