Netanyahu says Israel will continue to act against the Houthis

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday Israel would continue acting against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, whom he accused of threatening world shipping and the international order. (Reuters/File Photo)
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Updated 22 December 2024
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Netanyahu says Israel will continue to act against the Houthis

  • On Thursday, Israeli jets launched a series of strikes against energy and port infrastructure in Yemen
  • Response to hundreds of missile and drone attacks launched by Houthis since start of Gaza war

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday Israel would continue acting against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, whom he accused of threatening world shipping and the international order, and called on Israelis to be steadfast.
“Just as we acted forcefully against the terrorist arms of Iran’s axis of evil, so we will act against the Houthis,” he said in a video statement a day after a missile fired from Yemen fell in the Tel Aviv area, causing a number of mild injuries.
On Thursday, Israeli jets launched a series of strikes against energy and port infrastructure in Yemen in a move officials said was a response to hundreds of missile and drone attacks launched by the Houthis since the start of the Gaza war 14 months ago.
On Saturday, the US military said it conducted precision airstrikes against a missile storage facility and a command-and-control facility operated by Houthis in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa.
Netanyahu, strengthened at home by the Israeli military’s campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah forces in southern Lebanon and by its destruction of most of the Syrian army’s strategic weapons, said Israel would act with the United States.
“Therefore, we will act with strength, determination and sophistication. I tell you that even if it takes time, the result will be the same,” he said.
The Houthis have launched repeated attacks on international shipping in waters near Yemen since November 2023, in support of the Palestinians over Israel’s war with Hamas.


Turkiye seals preliminary deals for largest foreign-funded railway project

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Turkiye seals preliminary deals for largest foreign-funded railway project

  • The funding will support the 125 km (78 mile) long Northern Ring Railway Project, which will ⁠carry passengers and freight from Gebze ‌to Halkali via ‌the Yavuz Sultan Selim ​Bridge connecting Istanbul’s ‌two main airports

ISTANBUL: Turkiye ‌has reached preliminary agreements with six international lenders to secure $6.75 billion for a new railway ​line across the Bosphorus in what would be Turkiye’s largest foreign-financed railway project, Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said on Tuesday.
Once completed, the line that will pass through north Istanbul is expected to carry 33 million passengers ‌and 30 million ‌tons of freight ​annually, ‌he ⁠said, ​adding that ⁠it will open “a new era in logistics” by boosting the country’s rail capacity between Asia and Europe.
The funding will support the 125 km (78 mile) long Northern Ring Railway Project, which will ⁠carry passengers and freight from Gebze ‌to Halkali via ‌the Yavuz Sultan Selim ​Bridge connecting Istanbul’s ‌two main airports.
Preliminary deals were reached ‌with the World Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Asian Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, OPEC Fund for International Development and the European Bank ‌for Reconstruction and Development, the minister said.
“We aim to complete ⁠the ⁠tender process and hand over the site this year so that (construction) work can start,” Uraloglu said.
An uninterrupted rail freight across the Bosphorus Strait is currently possible through the Marmaray railway tunnel and only during limited hours daily. According to the ministry’s website, a total of just 1.7 million tons of cargo ​were transported through ​Marmaray between 2020 and October 2025.