Daily Briefing May 4: Day 576 – Houthi missile hits Ben Gurion Airport

Welcome to The Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what’s happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.

Diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman and environment reporter Sue Surkes join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today’s episode.

This morning, a Houthi ballistic missile struck inside the grounds of Ben Gurion Airport after the Israel Defense Forces failed to intercept it. Landings and takeoffs were halted after the launch was detected, before the projectile struck. Magen David Adom says six people were physically hurt, but Berman explains how the biggest blow may have been to Israel’s reputation.

Two IDF soldiers — Cpt. Noam Ravid, 23 from Sha’arei Tikva and Staff Sgt. Yaly Seror, 20, from Omer — were killed and two were wounded in an explosion in a booby-trapped tunnel shaft in southern Gaza’s Rafah Saturday, the military announced. This terrible announcement comes after we heard last night that the military was resuming mass call-ups of reserves for more intensive operations in Gaza. Berman weighs in on whether Israel is gearing up for “the” big operation in Gaza, or whether that will be on hold until after US President Donald Trump’s visit to the region.

The Israel Defense Forces said its fighter jets had carried out a wave of airstrikes in Syria late Friday, less than a day after Israel attacked near the presidential palace in Damascus, amid Israeli warnings to Syria’s new Islamist rulers not to harm their country’s Druze minority following deadly sectarian clashes. Also, on Saturday, the IDF said troops were “deployed to southern Syria and prepared to prevent hostile forces from entering the area and Druze villages.” This comes as an Israeli Air Force helicopter ferried humanitarian aid to the Sweida area of southern Syria and retrieved wounded Druze. Berman gives insight into Israel’s activities.

The Fire and Rescue Service said Thursday evening that firefighters had gained control of the conflagrations that had ravaged the Jerusalem hills for close to 30 hours. The announcement came hours after roads and train lines were reopened and evacuees from the area were permitted to return to their homes. Surkes describes the factors that led to this massive outbreak and why lessons definitely have yet to be learned.

The conversation can also be viewed here:

Check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Houthi missile hits grounds of Ben Gurion Airport after interception fails; 6 injured

Two IDF soldiers killed, two wounded in blast in booby-trapped Rafah tunnel

IDF calls up tens of thousands of reservists ahead of expanded Gaza offensive

IDF strikes military targets across Syria, says troops deployed to protect Druze

PM: Qatar ‘playing both sides’; Doha: He’s trying to justify crimes against civilians

Israeli chopper ferried aid to Druze in southern Syria, 70 km from border — source

Government accused of failing to take fire threat seriously despite years of warnings

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves and video edited by Thomas Girsch.

Check out yesterday’s Daily Briefing episode here: