Middle East updates: Israel says intercepted Houthi missile

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will send a delegation for talks next week aimed at negotiating a hostage deal with Hamas, his office said in a statement.

Netanyahu reportedly held a meeting Sunday with the delegation and senior members of Israel's defense establishment. The statement did not specify the delegation's destination.

Israel's Haaretz newspaper said the delegation would depart for Qatar on Thursday.

Qatar and Egypt have led the cease-fire negotiations effort over the past nine months, backed by the United States. But negotiations have failed to produce any deal, with both warring sides blaming each other for the lack of progress.

More than 250 people were taken hostage during Hamas' attack on southern Israel on October 7 and were relocated to Gaza.

Around 120 remain in captivity, with about a third of them believed to be dead, according to Israeli authorities.

A lawmaker from the far-left France Unbowed (LFI) party has been denounced for saying Israeli athletes were not welcome at the Paris Olympics, which open on Friday.

Thomas Portes told a rally in support of Palestinians that "the Israeli delegation is not welcome in Paris" and called for "mobilization" around the event.

Later, in an interview with the Parisien newspaper, Portes called on French diplomats to "pressure the International Olympic Committee to bar Israel's flag and national anthem, as is done for Russia."

Much of the LFI's European election campaign focused on opposition to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Yonathan Arfi, head of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France called the comments "irresponsible" and said Portes was "putting a target on the backs of Israeli athletes."

Portes' comments also came under attack from other French lawmakers, including Socialist MP Jerome Guedj.

"Of course Israeli athletes are welcome, like all sportspeople from all over the world. Not for who they are but for what they do," Guedj posted on social media.

The Israeli military issued call-up notices to 1,000 members of the ultra-Orthodox community, setting up a potential standoff between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the two religious parties in his coalition.

The Times of Israel reported that the first batch of 3,000 conscription notices were sent to men aged 21 to 26 on Sunday morning. The daily said two other batches would be issued in the coming weeks.

Last month, Israel's Supreme Court stopped the government from issuing blanket exemptions to Jewish seminary students from the conscript military. That arrangement had been in place since around the time of Israel's establishment in 1948.

The government wants to pass a new partial compromise law to see off a threat to the stability of Netanyahu's coalition, which includes far-right religious conservatives, but ministers say public and army pressure is building to spread the burden of serving in the military.

Many in the rapidly growing ultra-Orthodox community say that forcing seminary students to serve, especially alongside women, risks destroying their identity as religious Jews.

Some rabbis have urged those who receive call-up orders to burn them.

Israelis are required to serve for up to 32 months in the military from the age of 18.

Pope Francis said he hoped the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games would bring about a monthlong truce in wars around the world, including the Middle East conflict.

During his Angelus prayer in St. Peter's Square, the pope called for warring sides to respect an ancient Greek tradition and lay down their arms for the duration of the Games.

The Olympics runs from Friday until August 11, followed by the Paralympic Games from August 28 to September 8.

"According to ancient tradition, may the Olympics be an opportunity to establish a truce in wars, demonstrating a sincere will for peace," Francis said.

He also noted how sport also has "a great social power, capable of peacefully uniting people from different cultures."

The pope said he hoped the athletes would be "messengers of peace" and called for the Catholic faithful to pray for cease-fires.

"Let us not forget the martyred Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Myanmar, and many other countries at war. Let us not forget, war is a defeat," he concluded.

Some 10,500 athletes and over 100 heads of state and government will be in the French capital for the opening ceremony.

Just eight Palestinians are taking part in the games, most of whom were born outside of the Palestinian territories. 

AFP photojournalist Christina Assi, who was severely wounded during an Israeli strike on southern Lebanon, carried the Olympic torch in Paris on Sunday to honor journalists wounded and killed in the field.

The Lebanese photojournalist said she felt "incredible" support. "It's amazing and heartwarming to see all these people cheering after we survived a targeted attack as journalists," she added. 

AFP videographer Dylan Collins, an American hurt in the same incident, pushed Assi's wheelchair as she carried the torch.

Assi said that she wished slain Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah and other journalists killed in the fighting "were here to witness this today." Assi was with Abdallah, who was killed covering cross-border clashes between the Israeli military and armed groups in southern Lebanon in October last year.

Six journalists from Reuters, Al Jazeera and the two from AFP were wounded in the incident.

All three media outlets accused Israel of targeting their journalists, who maintained they were positioned far from the clashes, with vehicles clearly marked as press.

International human rights organizations Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said the attack was a deliberate attack on civilians and should be investigated as a war crime.

The Israeli military at the time said that the incident was under review, maintaining that it didn't target journalists.

Assi had to have her right leg amputated. "I wish I could have honored journalists this way while walking and in my best health," she said.

Israel's military said it has started vaccinating its soldiers serving in the Gaza Strip against polio after health agencies reported finding cases of the virus.

UN agencies reported that the Global Polio Laboratory Network discovered type-2 poliovirus in six environmental samples collected on June 23. Israel's health ministry also confirmed similar findings.

The military also said it was working with international groups in Gaza to offer the vaccine to Palestinians, saying that it had so far supplied 300,000 jabs. It was not immediately clear how these would be administered.

Much of Gaza's health infrastructure was destroyed in the Israeli military operation in the territory following the October 7 attacks by Hamas on southern Israel. 

The Israeli strikes have also destroyed or damaged much of the enclave's sewage systems, leaving open sewage pools in some locations, and increasing the risk of dangerous diseases spreading.

"The decimation of the health system, lack of security, access obstruction, constant population displacement, shortages of medical supplies, poor quality of water and weakened sanitation are increasing the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases, including polio," World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said on Friday.

Polio is a very contagious viral disease caused by the poliovirus. It can cause permanent disability and even death.

• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) targeted Houthi military targets in response to Houthi attacks on Israel. The IDF said the port is an entry point for weapons shipments from Iran used by the Houthis against Israel.
• The Israeli military said it used US-made F-15 and F-35 combat aircraft in the strikes on the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah, located some 1,700 kilometers (over 1,000 miles) from Israel.
• Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam called the strikes "blatant Israeli aggression" that targeted fuel storage facilities and a key power station. He accused Israel of trying "to increase the suffering of the people and to pressure Yemen to stop supporting Gaza."
• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was "deeply concerned about the risk of further escalation in the region," his special envoy to Yemen said. Guterres urged restraint. He also urged parties to avoid attacks that could harm civilians and damage civilian infrastructure.
• The Ministry of Health in Sanaa said at least six people were killed and more than 80 people were wounded in strikes in Hodeidah, most of them with severe burns.  
• The Houthis said it would not adhere to any rules of engagement and would continue attacking Israel, spokesperson Abdulsalam told Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera.

• The Houthis, who control much of the north of Yemen and other large population centers, vowed an "effective" response and said they are prepared for a long war. They have targeted nearly 90 ships in the Red Sea with drone strikes since shortly after Israel began its offensive in Gaza last October. The rebels have also fired several missiles targeting Israeli cities.
• US and UK forces have launched attacks against Yemen numerous times since the Houthis began firing on vessels passing through the Red Sea.
• The Houthis are considered allies of the government in Iran. They see themselves as part of the so-called Axis of Resistance, an Iran-led regional alliance that also includes Hamas in Gaza, Lebanon's Hezbollah and various Iraqi paramilitary factions.
• Yemen has faced war and poverty for many years. A conflict between Houthis and the Saudi-backed government sparked fears of a humanitarian catastrophe.

The Israeli military said it intercepted a ballistic missile fired by Houthi militants in Yemen targeting the southern city of Eilat.

It said the missile was intercepted before reaching Israeli territory.

Hours earlier, Israeli warplanes struck several targets in the militia-controlled port city of Hodeidah in Yemen. That strike was in response to an earlier Houthi strike that hit Tel Aviv on Friday.

Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam said the strikes made its forces more determined to support Gaza.

Iran-aligned groups, including the Houthis, have fired rockets and missiles at Israel, saying they are doing so in support of Palestinians and the militant group Hamas that controls Gaza. 

The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Sunday at least 38,983 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory in the current conflict.

A further 89,727 people have been injured since Israel launched a military campaign to destroy Hamas in response to a terror attack on southern Israel on October 7.

The ministry said that 64 people were killed and 105 others were injured in the past 24 hours alone.

The figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants, but the majority of those killed are believed to be women and children. 

Israel's military confirmed that it had struck Hezbollah weapons storage facilities overnight.

The Israeli air force "struck two Hezbollah weapons storage facilities in southern Lebanon, containing rockets and additional weaponry," the military said in a statement.

Earlier, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said "the Israeli enemy launched a raid" on the town of Adloun, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the border with Israel, later saying the target was "an ammunition depot."

It came after Hezbollah and Hamas fired rockets and explosive-laden drones at northern Israel.

That attack was in apparent retaliation for Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon on Friday that wounded several civilians, including a boy who is in a critical condition.

Iranian-backed Hezbollah and Israel have traded near-daily fire since the Hamas-led terror attack on southern Israel on October 7.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with US President Joe Biden on Tuesday, his office said on Sunday.

They are set to discuss efforts to secure a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict and the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Biden has shown strong support for Israel publicly. However, he voiced concern over an offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah in May and temporarily suspended deliveries of heavy bombs to Israel.

Netanyahu will also address the US Congress on Wednesday. 

He still enjoys strong support amongst US lawmakers, especially Republicans, but some Democrats announced they would boycott Wednesday's speech over the mounting civilian death toll in the Gaza Strip.

At least six people were killed and 80 injured in an Israeli airstrike on Yemen's Hodeidah port, medical authorities told the Reuters news agency on Sunday.

The Israeli military said Saturday's attack was in response to hundreds of Houthi attacks, including a drone attack on Tel Aviv on Friday that killed one man and injured four others.

"The fire that is burning now in Hodeidah, is seen across the Middle East and the significance is clear," said Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. He vowed that Israel would carry out similar strikes "in any place where it may be required."

Firefighting teams were still battling a blaze at the Houthi-controlled Hodeidah port on Sunday, with thick plumes of black smoke shrouding the sky above the city.

The port employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for security concerns, said it could take days to contain the fire, a view echoed by Yemeni experts.

The Houthis have been targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea with drone strikes since shortly after Israel began its offensive in Gaza last October. It has also fired several missiles targeting Israeli cities. 

Israel launched the military operation in Gaza following the October 7 terror attacks on Israel by Palestinian militants including Hamas.

lo/fb (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)