Search form

You are here

  • Home
  • Countries in the Middle East impose curfew to curb the global spread of coronavirus


Countries in the Middle East impose curfew to curb the global spread of coronavirus

The pandemic has infected more than 336,000 people globally and killed over 14,600. (File/AFP)
Short Url

https://arab.news/rtn4a

Updated 24 March 2020
Arab News
Follow

Countries in the Middle East impose curfew to curb the global spread of coronavirus

  • Iran reported another 127 coronavirus deaths, bringing its death toll to 1,812
Updated 24 March 2020
Arab News

DUBAI: As the spread of COVID-19 continues across the globe, some countries in the Middle East imposed further regulations to stop the disease from spreading.

Saudi Arabia imposed an 11-hour curfew for 21 days, from 16:00 until 03:00 (GMT), while Lebanon deployed security forces to ensure residents stay at home.

UAE will close all malls for two weeks in two days, and authorities are urging people to remain at home.

The pandemic has infected more than 336,000 people globally and killed over 14,600. More than 98,300 people have recovered so far, mostly in China.

Monday, March 23 (All times in GMT)

19:54 - Egypt recorded 39 new coronavirus cases and five deaths.

18:50 - Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways said on Monday that effective immediately only citizens of the United Arab Emirates or diplomats will be able to board its flights from overseas destinations and only if their final destination is Abu Dhabi, the airline said on twitter.

The UAE is suspending all passenger flights for two weeks from Wednesday to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

18:45 - Algeria will impose a curfew to combat the coronavirus in the capital Algiers from 7pm-7am and a full lockdown in the town of Blida, center of the worst outbreak in the country, with both measures starting on Tuesday and lasting for 10 days.

The measures, to be enforced by the army, were announced in a statement by the presidency on Monday and residents of Blida will be able to receive food and other staples by delivery, it said.

18:00 - Jordan's King Abdullah II said he has directed the government, armed forces, and security services to deal with this danger with the highest degree of preparedness and formed a crisis cell, urging everyone to abide by the instructions.

17:55 - Europe's footballing body UEFA has postponed the Champions League final, the Europa League final and Women's Champions League final without giving any alternative dates.

17:45 - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Monday for an immediate cease-fire in conflicts around the world to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. FULL STORY HERE.

17:20 - The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in Italy has grown by 602 to 6,078, the head of the Civil Protection Agency said on Monday, an 11% increase but the smallest rise in numerical terms since Thursday, suggesting a clear downward trend.

16:42 - Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of 20 major economies agreed to develop an action plan in response to the coronavirus and to closely monitor the epidemic’s impact on markets and economic conditions, the Saudi Secretariat said.
A statement released following their virtual meeting said an impromptu virtual summit of G20 leaders initially announced for this week would convene “in a few days” but did not mention a specific date.

16:50 - Sudan announces a curfew across the whole of the country from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. starting from Tuesday, and Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, chairman of the Transitional Military Council, said that the country would mobilize all the state and army potential to face the pandemic.

16:40 - The United Arab Emirates decided to return all students studying outside the country, including those on scholarships, within 48 hours, in coordination with educational departments and embassies in the countries they are present in.

16:15 - The curfew in Saudi Arabia has now taken effect to control the spread of #COVID19. The curfew runs from 7pm until 6am every day for 21 days. FULL STORY HERE.

16:15 - The World Health Organization's Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said the coronavirus pandemic is "accelerating" and that the world's governments need to prioritise healh workers as many lives will be lost if those key workers get sick. WATCH PRESS BRIEFING BELOW:

16:00 - Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman said Monday that the German leader has tested negative for the new coronavirus. Spokesman Steffen Seibert told news agency dpa “the result of today’s test is negative” but that “further tests will be conducted in the coming days.”

15:00 - London's commuters are critical of the UK capital's transport authorities after Monday's rush hour saw packed trains despite the government's advice to avoid public transport and practice social distancing. FULL STORY HERE.

14:53 - President of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, Sheikh Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Sudais, said the two mosques will keep their main doors open but will close all non-main doors.
The authority said it is working to take all necessary measures and precautions to limit the spread of the coronavirus in cooperation with health and security agencies at the Grand Mosque.

14:20 - Tunisia’s President Kais Saied ordered the army to deploy in the streets to force people to respect a lockdown imposed to halt the spread of coronavirus, the office of the presidency said in a statement sent to Reuters.
Tunisia has 89 confirmed cases of the virus. It imposed a curfew last week and a general lockdown from Sunday that keeps people in their homes except to buy necessities.

13:40 - Confirmed coronavirus infections in Netherlands rise by 545 to 4,749 with 34 new deaths, the Dutch health authorities announced on Monday

13:30 - Britain's Ministry of Defense said on Monday that a team of military planners visited London's Excel Centre - a large exhibition space in the UK capital - to determine how it could help respond to the coronavirus outbreak and assist the country's National Health Service.

12:30 – Saudi Arabia has started preparations for the nationwide curfew that will start at 19:00 Saudi time until the next morning.

The Interior Ministry said violators of the curfew could be imprisoned and fined $2,663.

12:25 – Tunisia has confirmed 14 new cases of coronavirus, raising total to 89.

12:20– Bahrain has suspended prayer in all mosques starting on Monday.

12:15 – The British government has called on its citizens to stay at home to prevent the spread of the virus.

12:15 – The Libyan National Army has announced the implementation of curfew in areas under its control.

11:45 – Morocco has confirmed 134 coronvirus cases in the Kingdom, the Ministry of Health said on its website www.covidmaroc.ma. The ministry also announces the recovery of three patients, while four deaths were reported. READ THE REPORT

11:40 – The Russian Olympic Committee has called for cooperation to come out with a decision on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

11:40 – India has suspended all domestic flights as part of the procedures to tackle coronavirus.

11:35 – Iraq has recorded 3 deaths due to coronavirus, 33 new infections bring total cases to 266.




A worker sprays disinfectant over a clothesline near a house in an impoverished neighborhood in Najaf on March 23, 2020. (AFP)

10:55 – A senior Egyptian military official died on Monday from coronavirus, state newspaper Al-Ahram said, a day after state media announced the death of another senior military official.

10:40 – Paris police said it will extend confinement measures in the French capital because of the pandemic.

10:35 – Confirmed cases of coronavirus infections in Spain rose to 33,089, with new death toll of 2,182.

10:00 – Iran reported another 127 coronavirus deaths, bringing its death toll to 1,812 amid 23,049 confirmed cases. Iran is battling the worst outbreak in the Middle East, and has faced widespread criticism for not imposing stricter quarantine measures early on. It is also suffering under severe American sanctions imposed after President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. READ THE STORY HERE

09:55 – Malaysia reported 212 new coronavirus cases on Monday, the biggest daily jump in the Southeast Asian country and bringing the total to 1,518.
About 970 of the total cases are linked to a religious gathering last month near the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, the health ministry said.
The death toll from the coronavirus infection rose to 14, the ministry said.

09:30 – Oman records 11 new cases of coronavirus infections, bringing the total number to 66. 

09:00 – Tunisia’s public sector told to work from home until April 4, 2020 to protect workers from coronavirus.

08:05 – Kuwait’s Health Ministry recorded one new coronavirus case in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 189.

A total of 30 people have recovered, and 109 people left quarantine after testing negative.

08:05 – The Philippines has reported 82 new coronavirus infections, raising total number to 462.

07:50 – The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany has risen to 22,672 and 86 people have died from the disease, a tally by public health agency Robert Koch Institute showed on Monday.

07:45 – Hong Kong has banned all non-resident arrivals to the country over coronavirus fears.

07:25 – The Syrian government has announced the first case of the novel coronavirus in the war-torn country, days after starting measures to stem the spread of the pandemic.
Health minister Nizar Yaziji late Sunday said authorities had recorded “a first case of the coronavirus in Syria in a person coming from abroad,” without specifying the country. READ THE STORY HERE.

06:40 – The United Nations will create a fund to support the treatment of coronavirus patients worldwide, Norway’s foreign ministry said.
The purpose of the fund is to assist developing countries with weak health systems in addressing the crisis as well as to tackle the long-term consequences, the ministry added. READ MORE HERE.

06:40 – The United States should lift sanctions if Washington wants to help Iran to contain the coronavirus outbreak, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday, adding that Iran had no intention of accepting Washington’s offer of humanitarian assistance.

06:15 – Taiwan government announced 26 new cases of coronavirus, bringing total to 195.

05:31 – With Philippine borders closed to foreigners and tens of millions of people on home quarantine, President Rodrigo Duterte wants the power to control supplies and public utilities, order businesses to help government, and pull funds from state enterprises and departmental budgets to redirect into emergency health needs. READ THE STORY HERE

04:45 – The Philippine health department confirmed 16 new cases of COVID-19, bringing total to 396. The department also reported eight new deaths, raising toll to 33.

04:15 – Cambodia has reported two new coronavirus cases, taking toll to 86.

04:15 – Thailand has confirmed 122 new cases of the new coronavirus, making its total 721.

03:55 – Canada pulled out of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics while Australia said it could not assemble a team due to the coronavirus outbreak, and that its athletes should prepare for the Games to be postponed to 2021. READ THE STORY HERE

01:50 – Moroccan King Mohammad VI has ordered the mobilization of Royal Armed Forces’ medical resources to help the country’s fight against the novel coronavirus. READ THE STORY

Sunday, March 22 (All times in GMT)

23:30 – The UAE announced it will temporarily suspend all passenger and transit flights.

21:45 – UAE is to close all shopping malls as a result of the virus outbreak.

21:25 – Morocco announced fourth death due to coronavirus. Currently, the total number of cases is at 115.

19:35 – Jordan’s Ministry of Health recorded 13 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the toll to 112.

Authorities have reported one recovery and said all other cases are stable, except an 83-year-old.

18:35 – Sudanese authorities said 31 people have been released from quarantine after testing negative, while 13 cases remain under observation.

Topics: Coronavirus

Related

Middle-East
UAE closes shopping malls for two weeks as a coronavirus precaution
Update
Saudi Arabia
King Salman imposes curfew across Saudi Arabia to contain COVID-19

ICRC officials to meet UK Foreign Office over plan for Palestinian detainees

Updated 6 sec ago
Arab News
Follow

ICRC officials to meet UK Foreign Office over plan for Palestinian detainees

  • David Cameron reportedly negotiated deal with Israel’s government to allow two British legal observers and Israeli judge to visit some prisoners
Updated 6 sec ago
Arab News

LONDON: Officials from the International Committee of the Red Cross will hold talks with the UK Foreign Office over concerns about British plans to visit Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails.

Foreign Secretary David Cameron has reportedly negotiated a deal with Israel’s government to allow two British legal observers and an Israeli judge to visit some prisoners being held in Israeli prisons amid reports of “inhumane treatment,” The Guardian reported on Thursday.

In an interview with the BBC at the weekend, Cameron said he had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the issue.

“It’s not all bleak ... I said it (the lack of access to detainees) was not good enough, that we needed to have a proper independent system for inspecting and regulating, and the Israelis have announced they are now doing that,” he said.

Netanyahu’s government has blocked ICRC staff from having any access to Palestinian detainees since the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7. It has said the block will remain until Hamas allows access to Israeli hostages taken during the attack.

Critics say this stance could constitute a breach of the Geneva Conventions, with the ICRC having made repeated requests to both sides in the conflict to allow access to all those detained, as set out in the conventions.

Observers have also raised concerns that the UK plan will “weaken the rule of law” and could set a “dangerous precedent” for how detainees are treated in other conflict zones, The Guardian report added.

The ICRC’s director for the Middle East region, Fabrizio Carboni, is in London to hold talks with Foreign Office officials.

In a statement to The Guardian, the aid organization said Palestinian detainees must be treated as protected persons with access to the ICRC, as proscribed under the Geneva rules.

The statement added: “We have seen the reports of a government of Israel decision to allow observers to visit some places of detention. The ICRC remains hopeful that suitable steps are taken that could protect the health and welfare of detainees, which remains paramount. We reiterate our readiness to resume our mandated detention activities.”

Arab News columnist and director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, Chris Doyle, said the Foreign Office plan risked establishing a system that bypassed the ICRC and internationally accepted regulations.

“There is no transparency about Cameron’s alternative … I very much doubt that two Foreign Office-appointed lawyers in the company of a judge from the occupying power are going to have the expertise of the ICRC, but will instead be taken around sanitised prisons,” he said.

“What has happened to the thousands of Palestinians taken from Gaza to Israel is a huge issue. (Neither) we nor their families know where they are, whether they are combatants or children, or why in some cases they are being stripped to their underpants. We have heard nothing from the UK government about this,” he added.

During a week-long truce between Hamas and Israeli forces in November, the ICRC played an active role in facilitating the swap of 105 Israeli hostages held by Hamas and 240 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

Topics: War on Gaza Israel Palestine Gaza UK International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

Related

Middle-East
ICRC taps former UN Palestinian refugee agency director as new chief
Offbeat
Palestinian prisoner in Israel wins top fiction prize

Residents cower as fighting picks up in Sudan’s Al-Fashir

Updated 21 min 47 sec ago
Reuters
Follow

Residents cower as fighting picks up in Sudan’s Al-Fashir

Updated 21 min 47 sec ago
Reuters

CAIRO/DUBAI: Residents are fleeing missile fire and sheltering without food and water amid escalating fighting in the Sudanese city of Al-Fashir, witnesses and aid workers said, adding to fears of an all-out battle.
The city is the Sudanese army’s last stronghold in the western Darfur region. Its capture would be a major boost for the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as regional and international powers try to push the sides to negotiate an end to a 13-month war.
Locals and aid workers fear the clashes could also lead to a new round of bloodletting after ethnically-driven violence blamed on the RSF and its allies elsewhere in Darfur last year.
Many of Al-Fashir’s 1.6 million residents arrived during the violence between Arabs and non-Arabs that killed hundreds of thousands of people in the early-2000s. The RSF’s origins lie in the Arab janjaweed militias accused of ethnic cleansing and genocide then.
In recent weeks the RSF has almost surrounded Al-Fashir, capital of North Darfur state, while soldiers from the army and allied non-Arab armed groups fill the city.
In a sign of mounting ethnic tensions, Mini Minnawi, head of one of the groups, said on X he had made a wide call for fighters to come and defend Al-Fashir, in response to what he said was a similar call by the RSF.
Al-Fashir residents report snipers, stray missiles and army air strikes causing fires in the east and north of the city. Many civilians have taken up arms.
“The situation in the city has been difficult the past few days. Missiles from both sides are falling inside neighborhoods and homes, and getting to hospitals is dangerous,” said 38-year-old resident Hussein Adam.
Medical aid agency MSF said on Thursday that the city’s South Hospital had seen 489 casualties since May 10, including 64 deaths, though it said the real toll was far higher.
Another hospital it supports, which saw 27 people killed last weekend, was forced to shut down after an army air strike 50 meters away, MSF said.
The RSF and army blame each other for the violence.
On Wednesday, the United States imposed sanctions on two top RSF commanders, including the force’s head of operations, for the attacks on Al-Fashir.
“We are prepared to take further action against those who actively escalate this war – including any offensive actions on El Fasher – create barriers to humanitarian access, or commit atrocities,” US ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield posted on X.
Experts have raised warnings of impending famine in the displacement camps that dot Al-Fashir. The city also suffers from water shortages, network outages, and high prices.
In one of those camps, Abu Shouk in the north of the city, nine people were killed by stray missiles, camp leaders said on Sunday.
Residents say displaced people from eastern neighborhoods are sheltering under trees and in open squares.
“Most families have moved west, women and children with nothing to eat or drink,” said resident Mohamed Jamal, a volunteer with the local emergency response room.
The army has so far insisted that international aid delivered via Chad for other parts of Darfur pass through Al-Fashir, something that the escalating violence prevents.
Carl Skau, Chief Operating Officer of the World Food Programme, said the agency had trucks ready in the Chadian border town of Tina, but they needed to be able to move soon.
“The window is closing, the rains are coming and we need action in the next couple of weeks,” he told Reuters after a trip to Port Sudan where he tried to negotiate with the army for better access this week.
The UN’s World Food Programme expects more people are being driven to the brink of starvation in other parts of Sudan worst affected by the war including the capital Khartoum, El Gezira state and the Kordofan regions.
“We really need to step up a concerted effort to avoid an even worse catastrophe,” Skau said.

Topics: Sudan Darfur al-Fashir

Related

Middle-East
‘Constant terror’ in key Darfur city as fighting closes in
Middle-East
Truce crumbles in Sudanese army’s last Darfur holdout

US military says aid pier anchored to Gaza beach

Updated 24 min 46 sec ago
AFP
Follow

US military says aid pier anchored to Gaza beach

  • The US Central Command said the pier was “successfully affixed to the beach in Gaza” with around 500 tons of aid expected to enter the Palestinian territory in the coming days
  • “It’s a pretty substantial amount, and it’s spread out over multiple ships right now,” Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, deputy CENTCOM commander, told reporters
Updated 24 min 46 sec ago
AFP

JERUSALEM: US troops on Thursday anchored a long-awaited temporary pier aimed at ramping up emergency aid to a beach in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, the US military and Israel said.
The US Central Command said the pier was “successfully affixed to the beach in Gaza” with around 500 tons of aid expected to enter the Palestinian territory in the coming days.
“It’s a pretty substantial amount, and it’s spread out over multiple ships right now,” Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, deputy CENTCOM commander, told reporters in Washington.
Israel’s military also said in a statement that the connection was “successfully completed.”
But Farhan Haq, a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said negotiations remained ongoing on distribution of the aid — particularly on the safety of workers.
“We are finalizing our operational plans to make sure that we’re ready to handle it once the floating dock is properly functioning, while ensuring the safety of our staff,” he said.
The Gaza war has been devastating for aid workers. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, which Israel accuses of bias, has alone lost 188 Gaza staff, according to UN figures.
Asked about the concerns, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said the United States was working with the United Nations on practicalities but added: “From our point of view, we believe that this is ready to go and for aid to start flowing as soon as possible.”
US President Joe Biden announced the emergency pier in March to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where the United Nations has warned of famine with virtually the entire population of 2.4 million displaced by the Israeli military action in response to the October 7 Hamas attack.
Built at a cost of at least $320 million, the project is extraordinary in that such massive humanitarian efforts by the United States are usually in response to actions by hostile countries, not a US ally.
The humanitarian assistance is being screened in Cyprus and loaded by truck. Once on land, it will “move quickly,” being offloaded from the coast into Gaza within hours, Cooper said, adding that “thousands of tons of aid are in the pipeline.”
He said that around 1,000 US soldiers and sailors were involved in the operation but that they would not take part in delivery, which will be led by the UN.
The war began after Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s military retaliation has killed at least 35,272 people, also mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.
The UN has argued that opening up land crossing points and allowing more trucks convoys into Gaza is the only way to stem the spiralling humanitarian crisis.
But the primary crossing into Gaza, on the territory’s border with Egypt, has been closed for days.
Israeli troops took over the Palestinian side of the crossing last week as the military threatened a wider assault on the southern city, defying warnings from the United States and others over the fate of some 1.4 million civilians who had been sheltering there.
“Of course we’re thankful to the US for all the work they’ve done in creating the floating dock. However, getting aid to people in need into and across Gaza cannot and should not depend on a floating dock far from where needs are most acute,” Haq said.
Cyprus, the Mediterranean island nation that is the departure point for aid on the planned maritime corridor, said US ship James A. Loux left Wednesday, carrying relief supplies and technical equipment.
Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said that “new departures are expected, transporting humanitarian aid including food items, medical supplies, hygiene and temporary shelter.”
Britain, meanwhile, said its initial contribution of nearly 100 tons of “shelter coverage kits” figured in the first shipment.
The pier will begin with facilitating the delivery of around 90 truckloads of international aid into Gaza each day, before volumes are scaled up to 150 truckloads daily, a British statement said.

Topics: War on Gaza US Central Command aid Gaza beach cafe

Related

Middle-East
First shipment of aid to the US-built floating pier in Gaza departs from Cyprus
World
US paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says

‘Our supplies will not last,’ warns doctor at trauma center

Updated 31 min 42 sec ago
AFP
Follow

‘Our supplies will not last,’ warns doctor at trauma center

Updated 31 min 42 sec ago
AFP

JERUSALEM: At a field hospital that has become one of Gaza’s leading trauma centers, a doctor who has worked in a dozen war zones described the situation as the most “catastrophic” he had ever seen.
“It is devastating,” said Javed Ali, the head of International Medical Corps’ emergency response in Gaza.
Speaking this week from a field hospital northwest of the areas of Rafah ordered evacuated by Israel, he said the situation around the far southern city was “dire.”
The hospital, in the coastal area of Al-Mawasi, which Israel has designated a “humanitarian zone,” has swelled in a matter of months into a more than 150-bed facility made up of numerous white tents and shipping containers.
Since the first evacuation orders for Rafah were issued on May 6, ahead of a long-feared ground invasion of the southernmost part of Gaza, nearly half of the 1.4 million people who had been sheltering there have left, according to UN agencies.
“There has been a massive population movement,” Ali said, adding that most had avoided Al-Mawasi, which was already dramatically overcrowded, heading instead for the war-scarred city of Khan Younis, a battleground until last month.
Those arriving were “exhausted, they are scared, they don’t have resources,” Ali said, adding that many patients were asking for “money, support ... so they can move their families to safety.”
Gaza’s bloodiest war began with Hamas’s unprecedented Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 35,000 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the territory’s Health Ministry.
While the number of people sheltering in Al-Mawasi’s sea of tents may not have grown much in recent weeks, the pressure on the field hospital there certainly has.
With access to hospitals in Rafah largely cut off, the facility has seen the number of daily visits to its emergency department balloon from around 110 to close to 300, Ali said, describing “polytrauma cases with broken bones in every part of the body.”
The situation has been exacerbated by last week’s temporary closure of two major aid crossings into Rafah, which disrupted the supply of medicines and fuel for hospital generators.
Ali said the field hospital “saw this coming” and prepared surplus stocks but had not predicted the surging number of patients.
“It’s getting totally out of hand,” he said. “Our supplies will not last.”
He said the field hospital already saw shortages of “very critical items.”
It had, for instance, run out of “all pediatric formulations of antibiotics and painkillers” at a time when around 20 children were recovering from surgery.
Ali said the biggest worry was “space,” with major surgeries doubling from the previous average of around 25 a day.
There has also been a dramatic rise in the workload of the maternity ward, which has gone from around 10 deliveries a day to about 25, along with up to eight C-sections.
With expectant mothers unable to access the specialist maternity hospital in Rafah, there has also been a “massive increase in the number of complicated pregnancies,” he said.
Ali, who during a 15-year career has worked in war zones from Afghanistan and Sudan to Nigeria and Ukraine, said the situation in Gaza was “far more catastrophic.”
“The immense number of trauma cases, the lack of resources, the interrupted supply chain ... It’s something that I’ve never seen.”
In most wars, men account for the majority of gunshot and shrapnel wounds, but in Gaza the number of women and children injured “is very, very high,” Ali said, describing young children “with shattered limbs.”
With only a third of Gaza’s 36 pre-war hospitals even partially functional, according to the UN, and with displaced people often stuck far from health facilities “access has become extremely compromised.”
Ali said the field hospital in Al-Mawasi has grown to be the “main trauma referral center” in southern Gaza, “and we are working in a tent.”

Topics: War on Gaza

US destroys 4 Houthi drones in Yemen

Updated 57 min 51 sec ago
Saeed Al-Batati
Follow

US destroys 4 Houthi drones in Yemen

  • CENTCOM: These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for US, coalition, and merchant vessels
  • Prime minister accuses militia of trying to bankrupt the government by attacking oil terminals
Updated 57 min 51 sec ago
Saeed Al-Batati

AL-MUKALLA: The US Central Command said on Thursday morning, Yemen time, that its forces had destroyed four drones in an area controlled by the Houthi militia, thwarting a strike on ships in international commercial waterways.

“These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for US, coalition, and merchant vessels,” CENTCOM said in a statement.

This is the latest round of US military operations against sites in Yemen under Houthi control to pre-emptively destroy drones and missiles before they can be used against commercial and navy ships in the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandab Strait and Gulf of Aden.

The CENTCOM announcement came as Houthi officials reaffirmed their warnings to expand their assaults on ships if Israel did not halt its war in the Gaza Strip. 

Mahdi Al-Mashat, leader of the militia’s Supreme Political Council, said that they will launch attacks on ships during the fourth phase of their campaign in support of Palestine, which involves targeting ships in the Mediterranean until Israel ends the war and the blockade of Gaza.

“We have decisive, bold, and difficult choices if the aggression against our people in Gaza continues,” Al-Mashat said, according to the Houthi-run Saba news agency.

The militia’s leader, Abdul Malik Al-Houthi, said on Thursday that his forces had fired 211 missiles at Israel and carried out more than 100 attacks on US warships in the Red Sea since the start of their campaign in November.

He urged Iraqis to join them in their operations to support the Palestinian people.

“Companies that transport goods to the Israeli enemy will have their ships attacked anywhere within reach of the Yemeni army's capabilities,” Al-Houthi said. 

Since November, the Houthis have destroyed one commercial ship, captured another, and launched hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones at commercial ships and warships along international shipping lanes near Yemen, mostly in the Red Sea.

The Houthis say the attacks are intended to compel Israel to halt its blockade of Gaza, and have targeted US and UK ships because both countries attacked Yemen.

Yemeni government officials accuse the Houthis of leveraging Yemen’s widespread anger over Israel’s war in Gaza to shore up their dwindling popular support, recruit new fighters, and justify continuing military operations throughout Yemen. 

Speaking to leaders at the Arab summit in Bahrain on Thursday, Rashad Al-Alimi, head of Yemen’s internationally recognized Presidential Leadership Council, branded the Houthis as a “rogue” force that poses a significant danger to regional and international security.

He accused the Houthis of killing more than 500,000 Yemenis, displacing four million more, torching hundreds of homes and mosques, besieging towns, seizing Yemeni property, and generating the world’s greatest humanitarian catastrophe.

“The Yemen war, which was instigated a decade ago by Iran-backed militia, will continue to be one of the biggest challenges to Arab nations and their people’s interests,” Al-Alimi said.

At the same time, Yemen’s Prime Minister Ahmed Awadh bin Mubarak accused the Houthis of attempting to bankrupt his government by attacking oil terminals in the government-controlled provinces of Hadramout and Shabwa, preventing traders from importing goods through Aden ports, while banning the import of gas from the central city of Marib. 

He said that the Houthis’ efforts, which he described as an economic war, had cost the Yemeni government 3.3 trillion Yemeni riyals ($13.2 billion) in lost income since October 2022. 

“The Houthis are using all of their cards, including the economic war, to accomplish political goals,” bin Mubarak said in an interview with the national TV on Wednesday.

Topics: War on Gaza Yemen Houthis

Related

Special
Middle-East
Houthis claim 2 attacks on ships in Red Sea
Middle-East
US calls on Iran to halt ‘unprecedented’ weapons transfers to Yemen’s Houthis for attacks on ships

Latest updates

How a Saudi healthcare startup is using AI to transform the diagnosis of chronic diseases
Innovators challenged to improve pilgrim experience for people with mobility issues
Residents cower as fighting picks up in Sudan’s Al-Fashir
US military says aid pier anchored to Gaza beach
‘Our supplies will not last,’ warns doctor at trauma center

Search form

Print Edition
Read pdf version Subscribe now
© 2024 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.