Saudi-led coalition says Houthi drone was intercepted outside Mecca

Saudi Arabia air defenses intercepted and destroyed a drone launched by Yemen’s Houthis, before it entered prohibited airspace over the holy city of Mecca, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen says.

Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Malki says in a statement that it was the second Houthi attempt to target Mecca, Islam’s holiest city and the focal point of the annual hajj pilgrimage, following what the coalition said was a ballistic missile launch in July 2017.

Iran state news agency reports sound of explosions on Strait of Hormuz island

Several explosions have been heard on Iran’s Qeshm island, Iranian official IRNA news agency reportes, citing local sources as saying, adding the sounds appear to have come from the direction of the sea.

Man who attacked Israeli in NY after Oct. 7 sentenced to 90 days in jail

An assailant convicted of an antisemitic hate crime for attacking an Israeli in New York City after the October 2023 invasion of Israel is sentenced to 90 days in jail.

Yehia Amin in March pleaded guilty to assault as a hate crime in the third degree in Manhattan’s New York Supreme Criminal Court.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office says Amin was sentenced Tuesday to 90 days in jail followed by five years of probation, according to a plea agreement.

On October 18, 2023, shortly after the Hamas invasion of Israel, Amin stalked and punched a 23-year-old Jewish Israeli near Times Square, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said in an indictment after the incident.

The man was with four friends, all of whom were wearing kippahs, when they walked by Amin, who recognized them as Jewish and pursued them.

Amin, who was 28 at the time of the attack, taunted the group, telling them, “Hamas should kill more of you,” “May Allah kill all the Jews,” and “All Jews should die,” according to the District Attorney’s Office.

While Amin pursued the Israelis, he blasted music from a speaker that he later described as “Hamas........

© The Times of Israel