Yemeni Missiles Hit Ben Gurion Airport as Resistance Inflicts Losses on Occupation Forces in Rafah
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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. Presidential Envoy Steve Whitkoff are set to return for a second round of indirect negotiations, following a successful first round according to statements from Washington, Tehran, and Muscat, which hosted the talks. Iran's Foreign Ministry indicated that even if the venue shifts, Muscat will continue playing the role of mediator. The positive tone from both American and Iranian officials exceeded the expectations of observers, while Washington's allies, who had viewed negotiations with Tehran as an arena for dictating terms of surrender, were left stunned. They heard Iran insist that the talks be limited to the nuclear file, a stance the U.S. did not contradict, but rather American officials described the discussions as constructive and positive, and President Donald Trump even publicly expressed his readiness to make concessions in pursuit of an agreement with Iran. Tehran, for its part, made any transition to direct negotiations contingent on two conditions: that discussions remain exclusively focused on the nuclear issue, and that within that scope, they revolve solely around guarantees to reassure the international community that Iran's nuclear program is peaceful and not military in nature. Many observers linked this shift in the American stance to Washington's broader need to calm tensions in the Middle East in order to focus on its trade war with China. Others pointed to the U.S.'s failure in Yemen, particularly in altering the situation in the Red Sea or halting Yemeni attacks on ships bound for the occupying entity, as well as the inability to stop missile strikes deep inside the occupying entity.
On the Yemeni front, U.S. airstrikes continued across various regions, with the most prominent target being the capital, Sanaa, struck last night. In response, the Yemeni Armed Forces announced they had downed a sophisticated U.S. drone, while Yemeni missile barrages continued to strike deep into the occupying entity. These attacks triggered air raid sirens in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and the Gush Dan region, and included a new strike on Ben Gurion Airport. Meanwhile, in Rafah, the occupying army suffered further losses as it shifted to ground operations, as its airstrikes were no longer sufficient, even as its warplanes, late last night, struck the Baptist Hospital, rendering it out of service. Resistance operations disabled military vehicles and killed or wounded several of the entity's soldiers, according to official statements from the occupying army, which had already reported multiple officer and soldier casualties in recent days.
In Lebanon, the 50th anniversary of the outbreak of the civil war on April 13, 1975, was marked with official commemorations. President General Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam both addressed the occasion, joined by statements from various political leaders. A central theme in their speeches was the unanimous recognition of the failure of relying on foreign powers, and the assertion that the national state is the only viable solution. Yet, as often happens in Lebanon, consensus on words does not reflect consensus on meaning. For some, building a national state requires disarming the resistance; for others, it means adopting federalism. Meanwhile, another camp sees the essence of a national state in its defense of the land in the face of aggression and the undertaking of liberation from occupation. This view holds that efforts to build a national state have failed precisely because of the contradiction between the concept of a unified state and the sectarian structure of Lebanon's political and social systems. They call for implementing the reforms envisioned in the Taif Agreement, particularly the abolition of political sectarianism, the adoption of a non-sectarian electoral law, and the formation of a Senate where sects are represented.
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