JERUSALEM: Israel’s military said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen on Thursday, with the Iran-backed Houthi rebels later claiming responsibility for the attack, which followed Israeli strikes on Houthi targets.
The Houthis “carried out a qualitative military operation” using a ballistic missile, military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a video statement.
The Israeli military said earlier in a post on X that a missile launched from Yemen had been intercepted following air raid sirens that sounded before dawn in several areas of Israel.
The Houthis began targeting Israel and ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden they accuse of having links to the country after the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, claiming solidarity with Palestinians.
In response, Israel has carried out several strikes on Yemen, including attacks on Sunday on the port city of Hodeida.
The Houthis claimed responsibility this week for the sinking of two vessels, as they resumed their campaign against global shipping in the Red Sea.
Their fresh attacks mark the end of a months-long lull and threaten a May ceasefire with the United States that ended weeks of strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.
Saree said the Eternity C bulk carrier, which was first attacked on Monday, was headed for the Israeli port of Eilat and was attacked in support of Palestinians in Gaza.
Saree warned companies dealing with Israeli ports that their ships would be targeted until Israel was forced to “lift the siege” on Gaza and end the war.
The Houthis said Monday that they had boarded and sank another vessel, the Magic Seas, a day earlier, because its owner had done business with Israel and used its ports.
Houthi attacks have prompted many shipping firms to make the time-consuming detour around the southern tip of Africa to avoid the Red Sea, which normally carries about 12 percent of global trade.
Israeli army says intercepted missile launched from Yemen
https://arab.news/p62mj
Israeli army says intercepted missile launched from Yemen
- The Houthis carried out a military operation using a ballistic missile
WHO alarmed by health workers, civilians ‘forcibly detained’ in Sudan
- The WHO counts and verifies attacks on health care, though it does not attribute blame as it is not an investigation agency
GENEVA: The World Health Organization voiced alarm Tuesday at reports that more than 70 health workers and around 5,000 civilians were being detained in Nyala in southwestern Sudan.
Since April 2023, Sudan’s regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been locked in a brutal conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 12 million more and devastated infrastructure.
“We are concerned by reports from Nyala, the capital of Sudan’s South Darfur state, that more than 70 health care workers are being forcibly detained along with about 5,000 civilians,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X.
“According to the Sudan Doctors Network, the detainees are being held in cramped and unhealthy conditions, and there are reports of disease outbreaks,” the UN health agency chief said.
The RSF and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North faction allied earlier this year, forming a coalition based in Nyala.
“WHO is gathering more information on the detentions and conditions of those being held. The situation is complicated by the ongoing insecurity,” said Tedros.
“The reported detentions of health workers and thousands more people is deeply concerning. Health workers and civilians should be protected at all times and we call for their safe and unconditional release.”
The WHO counts and verifies attacks on health care, though it does not attribute blame as it is not an investigation agency.
In total, the WHO has recorded 65 attacks on health care in Sudan this year, resulting in 1,620 deaths and 276 injuries. Of those attacks, 54 impacted personnel, 46 impacted facilities and 33 impacted patients.
Earlier Tuesday, UN rights chief Volker Turk said he was “alarmed by the further intensification in hostilities” in the Kordofan region in southern Sudan.
“I urge all parties to the conflict and states with influence to ensure an immediate ceasefire and to prevent atrocities,” he said.
“Medical facilities and personnel have specific protection against attack under international humanitarian law,” Turk added.
