LONDON: As joint forces of the Arab coalition rapidly moved closer to Hodeidah, fighting in areas six kilometers away from the city’s airport intensified on Wednesday, military sources said.
Yemen’s army said units from the “rapid intervention forces” were currently positioned in Al-Durayhmi and were ready to enter the strategic port city of Hodeidah from the south.
Yemeni army spokesman Abdo Abdullah Majali told Asharq Al-Awsat on Wednesday that the rapid intervention forces are trained to fight inside small neighborhoods and hunt down Houthi militias hiding in fortified buildings. He added that they would work to clear these buildings in preparation for the army’s entry into Hodeidah and its liberation while ensuring that residents remained safe.
Majali added that the liberation of Hodeidah would help the army to advance on several other Yemeni cities because of its strategic position as a port city and its proximity to Taiz, Ibb, Al-Mahwit, Dhamar, and Hajjah.
At least 53 rebels died in fighting in Hodeidah on Wednesday while seven pro-government fighters were killed and 14 wounded, according to medical sources.
A military source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Houthi militias experienced heavy losses on fronts in the province of Saada as a result of confusion and panic.
The source added that these losses prevented the Houthis from sending military reinforcements to confront Arab coalition forces heading toward Hodeidah from the western coast.
In a phone call to Hodeidah’s governor on Wednesday, Yemen’s Prime Minister Ahmed bin Daghr praised the country’s army and the Popular Resistance for their competent role in combating Houthi militias which he said are losing strength every day.
Fighting rages near Yemen's Hodeidah airport
Fighting rages near Yemen's Hodeidah airport
- At least 53 rebels died in fighting in Hodeidah on Wednesday while seven pro-government fighters were killed and 14 wounded.
- Yemen’s Prime Minister Ahmed bin Daghr praised the country’s army and the Popular Resistance for their role in combating Houthi militias.
Israel army says struck Hezbollah targets in ‘several areas’ of Lebanon
- The Israeli military said it struck “several areas in Lebanon,” targeting “weapons storage facilities and a weapons production site
- Lebanese official news agency NNA reported strikes on southern Lebanon in areas far from the border
JERUSALEM: Israel’s military said it struck Hezbollah targets in several areas of Lebanon on Friday, a day after the Lebanese army said it had completed the first phase of its plan to disarm the group.
Under US pressure and amid fears of expanded Israeli strikes, Lebanon has committed to disarming the Iran-backed militant group, which was weakened by more than a year of hostilities with Israel including two months of all-out war that ended with a November 2024 ceasefire.
Despite the truce, Israel has kept up regular strikes in Lebanon, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah sites and operatives, and has maintained troops in five south Lebanon areas it deems strategic, accusing the group of rearming.
In a statement on Friday, the Israeli military said it struck “several areas in Lebanon,” targeting “weapons storage facilities and a weapons production site that were used for the rehabilitation and military build-up of the Hezbollah terrorist organization.”
“Additionally, several launch sites and rocket launchers, along with military structures, were struck,” it added.
Lebanese official news agency NNA reported strikes on southern Lebanon in areas far from the border, as well as in the eastern Bekaa area where Hezbollah has a strong presence.
No casualties were immediately reported.
“The targets that were struck, and Hezbollah’s reestablishment activity in these sites, constitute a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon, and pose a threat to the State of Israel,” the military statement said.
- ‘Encouraging announcements’ -
Lebanon’s army said Thursday it had “achieved the objectives of the first phase” of its plan to disarm Hezbollah, covering the area south of the Litani River — around 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border — with the intention to extend it to the rest of the country.
Israel said the efforts were encouraging but not enough.
“The ceasefire agreement... states clearly, Hezbollah must be fully disarmed,” the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.
“Efforts made toward this end by the Lebanese government and the Lebanese armed forces are an encouraging beginning, but they are far from sufficient,” it added.
Lebanese official media said a strike on Thursday killed one person near the southern city of Sidon, as Israel’s army said it targeted a Hezbollah operative.
Under the ceasefire, Hezbollah was to withdraw its forces north of the Litani River and have its military infrastructure dismantled in the evacuated areas.
The group has refused to surrender its weapons.
On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the “encouraging announcements by the Lebanese authorities,” calling for the disarmament process to be pursued “resolutely.”
“The second phase of the plan will be a decisive step,” he wrote on X, adding that “the ceasefire agreement must be strictly respected by all parties.”
“Lebanon’s sovereignty must be fully restored,” he added, saying an international conference would soon be held in Paris “to provide them with the concrete means to guarantee this sovereignty.”
