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(TEL AVIV) — A ballistic missile launched from Yemen by the Iran-backed Houthis struck near Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport on Sunday, briefly grounding flights, halting train service and forcing the closure of access roads covered in debris.

“Following the sirens that sounded in a number of areas in Israel, several attempts were made to intercept the missile launched from Yemen,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement. “A fall was identified in the area of Ben Gurion Airport. The incident is under review.”

The incident marks the first time the Israeli Army has claimed it failed to intercept an incoming ballistic missile since the collapse of the ceasefire in Gaza in mid-March. The Houthis have fired over two dozen missiles and drones on Israel recently, according to the IDF.

In a statement on Sunday, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “As far as the trade routes, obviously, we’re being challenged, the whole world is being challenged by the Houthis, including in the dastardly attack they did today near Ben-Gurion Airport. We will not tolerate it.”

He also emphasized Iran’s role, saying, “We will take very strong action against them. And we always remember that they act with their patron Iran’s direction and support. We will do what we need to take care of our security, to respond effectively, and to give Iran a due warning that this cannot continue.”

A spokesperson for Ben Gurion International Airport said flights were grounded for nearly an hour after the Houthi missile struck a grassy area near the main highway leading into the airport at around 9:30 am local time.

The blast damaged parts of the entrance to Terminal 3. Israeli police said officers and emergency workers are still clearing the closed highway, with bulldozers brought in to remove debris. Several airlines have cancelled their flights to Israel today, including Lufthansa and British Airways.

Trains leading to and from the airport, which were halted initially after the strike are now running again, providing the only way into the airport.

Magen David Adom, Israel’s emergency services, said in a statement that eight people had been transported with injuries to two local hospitals. Most of the injuries were sustained from running for cover during the aerial siren. There were no fatalities, Israeli officials said.

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces said the initial inquiry by the Israeli Air Force’s Commanding Officer found no malfunction in the detection systems, interception protocols, or Home Front Command alert mechanisms.

“According to the assessment, the likely cause was a technical issue with the interceptor launched toward the missile,” the IDF said.

The IDF emphasized that since the war began, the Israeli Air Force has intercepted dozens of missiles launched from Yemen, maintaining a success rate of over 95%.

Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened to respond to the Houthi strike, saying on X, “Whoever harms us will be harmed seven-fold.”

“Yemen will not tolerate ongoing violations against Arab nations such as Lebanon and Syria, and stands ready to confront any aggression,” the Yemeni Armed Forces said Sunday. “This nation will not fear confrontation and will refuse submission.”

Netanyahu was set to convene his top advisers and the defense officials on Sunday to weigh Israel’s response, according to an Israeli official.

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(LONDON) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet approved an operational plan for the expansion of the war in Gaza in a meeting late Sunday, a senior Israeli political source confirmed to ABC News.

The plan includes the occupation of parts of Gaza’s territory and “moving” Palestinians to the south of Gaza, the source said. It also approves the “possibility” of allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

ABC News’ Victoria Beaule contributed to this report.

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(VATICAN CITY) — In the wake of the death of Pope Francis, the spotlight has been placed on the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church as they gather for a secretive conclave to select the next pontiff.

Many of these clergymen are flocking to social media to share updates with the public, marking a stark difference to the last conclave in 2013 when digital platforms were not as established, according to Gustavo Entrala, a strategic communications consultant who previously worked with Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.

“It’s clear that many cardinals are being more active right now on social media. That’s a huge contrast with the last conclave,” Entrala told ABC News.

Cardinal Isao Kukuchi, the archbishop of Tokyo, posted a selfie on a bus with other cardinals while they were en route to “pray in front of the tomb of Pope Francis” after his funeral on April 26.

Later, once the date of the conclave’s start was announced, Cardinal William Goh of Singapore immediately posted to X asking for people to “pray that we will choose the right candidate to be the successor of St. Peter to lead the Church in this complex world.”

Similarly, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, has attained almost 300,000 followers on X, where he has been posting daily videos describing his activities in Rome and sharing some of the locations of meetings and mass leading up to the conclave.

While the idea of cardinals posting on social media has been a rising trend within the Catholic Church over the years, Entrala said the type of content has shifted slightly since Francis’ death.

“If you watched what [cardinals] were doing one month ago, it was more doctrinal, more spiritual and encouraging to their people, but now they are talking about the papacy and the process that they are going through now,” Entrala said. “I think their content is much more oriented to explaining everything surrounding the papacy and the conclave.”

The openness to share bits of information while in Rome can allow for audiences to feel a stronger connection and sense of relatability to these cardinals, Entrala said.

“People don’t want to see the priests and cardinals or bishops as very distant people who talk to you from high up. [Cardinals] know that that doesn’t work anymore,” Entrala said.

Regardless of the type of content, Entrala said he “cannot see any of them posting for the fact that they want to be elected” as pope.

Still, the willingness cardinals feel to share online could potentially lead to major consequences, according to Kurt Martens, professor at the Catholic University of America and a canon law expert.

“When cardinals post on social media, they have to be extremely careful that nothing that’s been said [in private meetings] gets out,” Martens told ABC News. “If I were a cardinal, I wouldn’t say anything to the media right now other than ‘we are all praying very hard’ and ‘pray for us.'”

Martens said if a cardinal shares any information from their general congregation meetings prior to the conclave — or from the conclave itself — they could be subject to sanctions. Overall, anyone who “directly or indirectly violates the secrecy incurs an excommunication,” which is the highest sanction one could have in the church, Martens said.

Another potential challenge the cardinals face when posting on social media is a slew of negative comments, according to Walter Scheirer, professor of engineering who researches internet culture at the University of Notre Dame. These comments, which Scheirer describes as a “continual mockery of whoever is posting,” typically relate to political partisanship, critiques about the church and other “long-standing problems,” including the church’s sex abuse crisis.

Scheirer told ABC News the problem is that the cardinals do not respond to those comments, eliminating the back-and-forth that he says is the “point of social media.”

“What you see, especially with a high-profile account of a cardinal, is they don’t respond back. You see a string of negative comments, but the public figure never really engages with that. I think that’s a little bit disappointing,” Scheirer said.

Despite the potential downsides, social media has given users more access to the world of the Catholic Church and changed its traditional patterns of hierarchy, according to Jana Bennett, religious studies professor at the University of Dayton.

These platforms have widened the net of possibilities for people to gain religious insight from, instead of only relying on their local parish, Bennett said.

“You can sort of choose your own bishop, choose the people that you see as authoritative, where before, there wasn’t that choice,” Bennett said.

Along with the cardinals, the last two popes, Benedict and Francis, have also embraced social media, with Benedict introducing the papal Twitter account, @Pontifex, back in 2012, Entrala said.

Entrala said Francis was also “extremely active” on the account during his papacy and expects the next pontiff to do the same, and perhaps even increase their digital media presence through livestreaming.

“The idea of meeting the pope and having a selfie with him was unimaginable before Pope Francis,” Entrala said. “I think the next pope will be a man of his time. Even if he is not savvy in terms of using social media, he will accept it, no problem.”

The conclave to elect the Catholic Church’s 267th leader will begin on May 7, according to the Vatican.

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(VATICAN CITY) — Two cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church who will be voting in the upcoming papal conclave sat down with ABC News to discuss the challenges facing the church that the new pontiff will have to face and shared glimpses of the election process.

Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny, who was appointed by Pope Francis in 2019, said the clergymen of the Catholic Church are “united in their task” to select a new pope.

The cardinals, who have been getting to know one another in Rome following the days of Pope Francis’ funeral, are not engaging in any kind of behind-the-scenes debates about issues of the church, Czerny said.

“This is not a political convention. We’re not dealing and wheeling in order to create a consensus. We are entering spiritually, prayerfully, having listened to one another as deeply as we can,” he said.

Czerny declined to say whether he wants a new pope whose views align with those of Francis nor would he discuss possible candidates for the next pontiff, but when asked what the church needs most at this time, he said: “It’s very important that we’re here in 2025, not 12 years ago or not 100 years ago, but now.”

Once elected, Czerny said the new pope will face challenges regarding artificial intelligence, the proliferation of wars and the climate crisis.

“These are all things in which the church is involved because we’re everywhere and these are the things that are affecting people’s lives,” Czerny said.

Cardinal Chibly Langlois, the first and only cardinal from Haiti who was appointed in 2014 by Francis, told ABC News he is looking for a pope who will be able to tackle issues like technology, the sex abuse scandals in the church, interreligious dialogue, along with outreach to young people and isolated communities.

“If we try to understand what awaits the next pope, inside the church, outside the church and around the world, that will help guide the next pope,” Langlois said.

Czerny said members of the clergy are listening to young people who want a more inclusive church, saying “inclusivity is another word for Catholic.”

“It’s part of what the Church is by its nature. And Pope Francis has been very good at opening the doors in the sense that people feel welcome, people feel included there. I’m sure that will continue,” Czerny told ABC News.

Czerny, who said he has not been following the media coverage of the conclave, is urging others to not worry about who the next pope will be.

“Every time there’s a new Holy Father, there’s this certain anxiety or disorientation,” Czerny said. “Right now, it’s a feeling of emptiness, an empty time. So I know there’s reasons maybe to feel a bit anxious, but there’s no reason for anxiety. Pray and be hopeful and when we discover who is the new Holy Father, let’s all rally to help him.”

Overall, Langlois — who did not disclose who he will be voting for during the conclave — said the church “cannot talk about the next pope without talking about the legacy that Pope Francis left us.”

“He opened this workshop of transformation, of transparency when it comes to governance, we’ll have to bear that in mind,” Langlois said. “We must complete what he started.”

The papal conclave will begin on Wednesday, May 7, according to the Vatican.

In total, 133 cardinals will be voting during this conclave, the most electors ever, with 108 of them being appointed by Pope Francis. Ten are from the United States.

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(RIO DE JANEIRO) — Two individuals were arrested in connection with an alleged bomb attack plot targeting Lady Gaga’s free concert on Copacabana Beach, Brazilian Civil Police confirmed.

The suspects — one adult male detained in Rio Grande do Sul and a teenager arrested in Rio de Janeiro — are both reported fans of Lady Gaga and were allegedly planning to use improvised explosives, including Molotov cocktails, authorities said. No explosives were found during the operation, according to police.

Authorities say the two are part of an online group that promotes hate speech and attempts to recruit other teenagers while encouraging acts of violence. One of the suspects was also found in possession of child pornography, police allege.

The arrests were part of Operation Fake Monsters, a joint investigation led by the Brazilian Justice Ministry, Federal Police, and digital intelligence services. The operation aimed to preempt any threat ahead of the singer’s historic performance on Saturday night, which drew over two million fans to Rio’s iconic beachfront.

Despite the threat, the concert proceeded without incident.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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(TEL AVIV) — A ballistic missile launched from Yemen by the Iran-backed Houthis struck near Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport on Sunday, briefly grounding flights, halting train service and forcing the closure of access roads covered in debris.

“Following the sirens that sounded in a number of areas in Israel, several attempts were made to intercept the missile launched from Yemen,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement. “A fall was identified in the area of Ben Gurion Airport. The incident is under review.”

The incident marks the first time the Israeli Army has claimed it failed to intercept an incoming ballistic missile since the collapse of the ceasefire in Gaza in mid-March. The Houthis have fired over two dozen missiles and drones on Israel recently according to the IDF.

According to a spokesperson for Ben Gurion International Airport, flights were grounded for nearly an hour after the Houthi missile struck a grassy area near the main highway leading into the airport at approx 9:30 am local time.

The blast damaged parts of the entrance to Terminal 3. Israeli police said officers and emergency workers are still clearing the closed highway; bulldozers were brought in to remove debris. Several airlines have cancelled their flights to Israel today, including Lufthansa and British Airways.

Trains leading to and from the airport, which were halted initially after the strike are now running again, providing the only way into the airport.

Magen David Adom, Israel’s emergency services, said in a statement that eight people had been transported with injuries to two local hospitals. Most of the injuries were sustained from running for cover during the aerial siren.

Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened to respond to the Houthi strike, saying on X, “Whoever harms us will be harmed seven-fold.”

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene his top advisors and the defense officials later today to weigh Israel’s response, according to an Israeli official.

The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack.

 

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