AM-MUKALLA: Shipping operators are reportedly posting statements on marine monitoring websites declaring that they have no connection to Israel before entering the Red Sea to avoid their vessels being targeted by the Houthi militia in Yemen.
The Houthis have said that they will not target ships passing through the Red Sea, Ban Al-Bandab, or the Gulf of Aden so long as they provide early notice of their destinations or indicate on maritime traffic monitoring sites that they have no relation with Israel.
Arab News has seen at least two ships docked in Djibouti that have posted on marinetraffic.com that they have “no relation to Israel” before heading to the Suez Canal through the Red Sea.
Since November, the Houthis have seized a commercial ship and conducted more than two dozen drone and missile attacks against commercial and naval ships traveling through the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandab, and the Gulf of Aden.
The Houthis claim that their attacks are in support of Palestine and that they are only targeting Israeli ships or ships traveling to Israel in an attempt to force Israel to lift its blockade of Gaza.
The US has responded to the Houthis’ attacks and their attempts to blockade the Red Sea by forming a coalition of marine task forces. America and the UK have subsequently conducted dozens of strikes on military targets in the Houthi-controlled part of Yemen. The US has also reclassified the Houthis as a terrorist group, three years after removing them from its list due to pressure from various international organizations.
US Central Command claims to have destroyed three anti-ship missiles targeted at the Red Sea on Friday evening before they could be launched. Media reports said that the Friday raids targeted a Houthi military base in the western province of Hodeidah.
On Friday, the Houthis declared that they had fired missiles against the US-owned Chem Ranger ship in the Gulf of Aden.
Meanwhile, fighting has erupted between Yemeni government forces and the Houthis in the provinces of Taiz, Joud, Marib, and Dhale in recent days. The Yemeni army said on Saturday that the Houthis had renewed attacks on its forces west of Taiz, a day after launching a major offensive on government troops in the same region.
Despite a considerable decline in hostilities in Yemen since April 2022, when the UN-brokered ceasefire went into force, the Houthis continue to fire missiles and drones and assault government-controlled towns in Taiz, Marib, Dhale, Hodeidah, and Marib.
Abdul Basit Al-Baher, a Yemeni army official in Taiz, told Arab News that the Houthis had launched “the biggest attack” on government troops in several months on Friday morning, leaving two Yemeni soldiers and three Houthis dead.
“The Houthis used drones and other weaponry to bombard the national army positions before attacking our forces on the ground. We managed to force them back while also destroying their military equipment,” Al-Baher said, adding that the army had also received intelligence that the Houthis are mustering their troops, installing heavy equipment, constructing trenches, and erecting sand barriers in apparent preparation for further assaults on government forces defending the besieged city.
The army released a statement on Friday saying that it had shot down two Houthi drones northwest of Hajjah.
Red Sea ships declare lack of ties to Israel online to avert Houthi attacks
https://arab.news/ye9ts
Red Sea ships declare lack of ties to Israel online to avert Houthi attacks
- Fighting erupts between government forces and the militia in Yemen
- The Houthis claim that their attacks are in support of Palestine and that they are only targeting Israeli ships or ships traveling to Israel
Hamas says it captured Israeli soldiers during fighting in northern Gaza
- Hamas spokesperson did not say how many Israeli soldiers were captured
- Statement came hours after prospects for resumption of Gaza ceasefire talks grew
CAIRO: A spokesman for Hamas’ armed wing said on Sunday its fighters had captured Israeli soldiers during fighting in Jabalia in northern Gaza on Saturday, though the Israeli military denied the claim.
The Hamas armed wing spokesman did not say how many soldiers had been abducted and showed no proof of the claim.
“Our fighters lured a Zionist force into an ambush inside a tunnel ... The fighters withdrew after they left all members of the force dead, wounded, and captured,” Abu Ubaida, the spokesman for Al Qassam Brigades, said in a recorded message broadcast by Al Jazeera early on Sunday.
The Israeli military on Sunday denied the claim by Hamas’ armed wing.
“The IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) clarifies that there is no incident in which a soldier was abducted,” the military said in a statement.
Hamas released a video that appeared to show a bloodied person being dragged along the ground in a tunnel and photos of military fatigue and rifle. Reuters could not independently verify the identity of the person shown in the video nor his or her condition.
The comments by Abu Ubaida came hours after prospects for a resumption of mediated Gaza ceasefire talks grew on Saturday.
An official with knowledge of the matter said a decision had been taken to resume the talks next week after the chief of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency met the head of the CIA and the prime minister of Qatar.
The source, who declined to be identified by name or nationality, said it had been decided that “in the coming week negotiations will open based on new proposals led by the mediators, Egypt and Qatar and with active US involvement.”
A Hamas official later denied Israeli media reports the talks would resume in Cairo on Tuesday, telling Reuters: “There is no date.”
After more than seven months of war in Gaza, the mediators have struggled to secure a breakthrough, with Israel seeking the release of hostages held by Hamas and Hamas seeking an end to the war and a release of Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
Nearly 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive, Gaza’s health ministry says. Israel began the operation in response to Hamas-led militants attacking southern Israeli communities on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Scuffles erupt between police, protesters demanding return of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza
- Israel says around 100 hostages are still being held in Gaza, along with the bodies of around 30 more
- Around half of the 250 hostages taken by Hamas and other militants have been freed, most in swaps for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel
JERUSALEM: Scuffles between Israeli police and protesters erupted in Tel Aviv on Saturday after thousands gathered to demonstrate against the government and demand that it bring back the hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza.
Meanwhile, a small US military vessel and what appeared to be a strip of docking area washed up on a beach near the southern Israeli city of Ashdod, not far from the US-built pier on which the Israeli military said humanitarian aid is moving into the Palestinian territory.
Also on Saturday, Israeli bombardments were reported in northern and central Gaza.
Some protesters in Tel Aviv carried photos of the female soldiers who appeared in a video earlier in the week showing them soon after they were abducted during the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 started the war between Israel and Hamas. Some held banners reading “Stop the war” and “Help.” They called on the government to reach a deal to release the dozens of hostages still in captivity.
The protesters also called for the resignation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and demanded new elections.
“We all saw the video, we could not stay at home after the government abandoned all these people,” said Hilit Sagi, from the group “Women Protest for the Return of All Hostages.”
Divisions among Israelis have deepened over how Netanyahu has handled the war against Hamas after the attack that killed about 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage. Israel says around 100 hostages are still being held in Gaza, along with the bodies of around 30 more.
“Basically they are not doing enough in order for the hostages to come back, either with military force, with (a) hostages’ deal, negotiating. Nothing is being done,” said Snir Dahan, uncle of hostage Carmel Gat, still in captivity in Gaza.
Earlier in the week, the bodies of three hostages killed were recovered from Gaza, Israel’s army said Friday. The army said they were killed on the day of the attack and their bodies were taken to Gaza. The announcement came less than a week after the army said it found the bodies of three other Israeli hostages killed on Oct. 7.
Around half of the 250 hostages taken by Hamas and other militants have been freed, most in swaps for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel during a weeklong ceasefire in November.
Netanyahu’s government has faced increasing pressure, both at home and abroad, to stop the war and allow humanitarian aid into the enclave that is home to 2.3 million Palestinians, almost 80 percent of whom have been displaced.
Also this week, three European countries announced they would recognize a Palestinian state, and the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court requested arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, along with Hamas officials.
On Friday the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to end its military offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah and to open the nearby border crossing for crucial humanitarian aid. The top United Nations court also said Israel must give war crimes investigators access to Gaza.
However, the judges stopped short of ordering a full ceasefire across the entire Palestinian territory, and Israel is unlikely to comply with the court’s ruling. South Africa accuses Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinians during the war in Gaza, which Israel vehemently denies.
“We were hoping the war would end,” said Islam Abu Kamar, who moved from Gaza City to Rafah following the ground operation launched by Israel after the Hamas attack in October.
In the past two weeks, more than a million Palestinians have fled Rafah as Israeli forces pressed deeper into the city. Israel’s takeover this month of the Rafah border crossing, a key transit point for fuel and supplies for Gaza, has contributed to bringing aid operations to near collapse, the UN and relief groups say.
Israel says it needs to invade Rafah to destroy Hamas’ last stronghold. Egypt said it agreed to send UN humanitarian aid trucks through the Kerem Shalom border crossing, Israel’s main entry point into southern Gaza. But it remains unclear if the trucks will be able to enter because fighting still rages in Rafah.
Israel said aid is moving into the Palestinian territory through northern Gaza and via the US-built pier. On Saturday, a small US military boat and what appeared to be a strip of docking area washed up on a beach near the southern Israeli city of Ashdod.
The US Central Command said four of its vessels supporting the humanitarian aid mission were affected by rough seas with two of them anchoring near the pier off the Gaza coast and another two in Israel.
US officials said no injuries were reported and the US is working with the Israeli army to recover the vessels, Central Command said.
American officials hope the pier at maximum capacity can bring the equivalent of 150 truckloads of aid to Gaza daily. That’s a fraction of the 600 truckloads of food, emergency nutritional treatments and other supplies that USAID says are needed each day to bring people in Gaza back from the brink of famine and address the humanitarian crisis brought on by the 7-month-old Israel-Hamas war.
Israeli bombardments continued in the enclave on Saturday with reports of strikes northern and central Gaza. Witnesses said people were killed in strikes on the cities of Jabaliya and Nuseirat.
More than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, according to the Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Tunisian president fires interior, social affairs ministers in partial cabinet reshuffle
TUNIS: Tunisian president Kais Saied dismissed on Saturday the Interior Minister Kamel Feki as part of a partial cabinet reshuffle, the presidency said.
The partial cabinet reshuffle also included replacing the minister of social affairs, Malek Ezzahi.
Saied appointed Khaled Nouri as the new interior minister and Kamal Madouri as minister of social affairs.
At least one Iraqi Sunni fighter killed in attack north of Baghdad
BAGHDAD: At least one pro-Iraqi government Sunni fighter was killed in an explosive device attack at a checkpoint in Khan Beni Saad, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Baghdad, officials and security sources said early on Sunday.
Two fighters with the Iraqi pro-government Sunni tribal force Sahwa were killed and at least six people, including five Iraqi soldiers, were injured in the attack, according to two security sources and a medical source.
The Iraqi Security Media Cell, an official body responsible for disseminating security information, said one person was killed after two explosive devices were detonated near the checkpoint on Saturday evening. It also said in a statement four people had sustained minor injuries.
Hamas says it captured Israeli soldiers in Gaza; Israel denies
- An Al Qassam Brigades spokesman said the captives were for dead by a "Zionist force" that were lured into an ambush inside a tunnel in Jabalia
- There is no incident in which a soldier was abducted, Israeli military replies in a statement
CAIRO: A spokesman for Hamas’ armed wing said on Sunday its fighters had captured Israeli soldiers during fighting in Jabalia in northern Gaza on Saturday, though the Israeli military denied the claim.
The Hamas armed wing spokesman did not say how many soldiers had been abducted and showed no proof of the claim.
“Our fighters lured a Zionist force into an ambush inside a tunnel ... The fighters withdrew after they left all members of the force dead, wounded, and captured,” Abu Ubaida, the spokesman for Al Qassam Brigades, said in a recorded message broadcast by Al Jazeera early on Sunday.
The Israeli military on Sunday denied the claim by Hamas’ armed wing.
“The IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) clarifies that there is no incident in which a soldier was abducted,” the military said in a statement.
Hamas released a video that appeared to show a bloodied person being dragged along the ground in a tunnel and photos of military fatigue and rifle. Reuters could not independently verify the identity of the person shown in the video nor his or her condition.
The comments by Abu Ubaida came hours after prospects for a resumption of mediated Gaza ceasefire talks grew on Saturday.
An official with knowledge of the matter said a decision had been taken to resume the talks next week after the chief of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency met the head of the CIA and the prime minister of Qatar.
The source, who declined to be identified by name or nationality, said it had been decided that “in the coming week negotiations will open based on new proposals led by the mediators, Egypt and Qatar and with active US involvement.”
A Hamas official later denied Israeli media reports the talks would resume in Cairo on Tuesday, telling Reuters: “There is no date.”
After more than seven months of war in Gaza, the mediators have struggled to secure a breakthrough, with Israel seeking the release of hostages held by Hamas and Hamas seeking an end to the war and a release of Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
Nearly 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive, Gaza’s health ministry says. Israel began the operation in response to Hamas-led militants attacking southern Israeli communities on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
