US strikes Houthi targets in Yemen over ‘imminent threat’

US strikes Houthi targets in Yemen over ‘imminent threat’
The US and UK have led the attacks against the Houthis. (AFP/File)
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Updated 06 February 2024
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US strikes Houthi targets in Yemen over ‘imminent threat’

US strikes Houthi targets in Yemen over ‘imminent threat’
  • Action in self-defense, said US Central Command on Tuesday
  • US-led coalition has been striking Houthi targets for weeks

RIYADH: The US military said early on Tuesday it had conducted a strike against “explosive uncrewed surface vehicles” belonging to the Houthis in Yemen on Monday afternoon.

The statement by the US Central Command, or CENTCOM, said the vehicles “presented an imminent threat to US Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region” and the action, carried out at approximately 3:30 p.m. local time, was in self-defense.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations, or UKMTO, organization said on Tuesday it had received a report of an incident west of Yemen’s Hodeidah.

The US and its allies have been conducting strikes against the Houthis who have declared a blockade of maritime traffic that supports Israel’s war on Gaza. The allies said the strikes were necessary to safeguard the security of ships in the Red Sea and to support international trade.

The US and the UK have led the attacks against the Houthis, with support provided by Australia, Bahrain, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Denmark.

Israel has been conducting a military campaign in the Gaza Strip since early October after Hamas attacked settlements in Israel killing 1,200 people and taking several hostages. The military response by Israel has killed over 27,000 people, mostly women and children, and prompted the International Court of Justice to rule that there may be a plausible case of genocide in the densely packed enclave.

The US said it does not want to escalate regional tensions but conducted strikes in Iraq and Syria last week in response to the killing of three US military personnel in Jordan. The act was in retaliation for an attack on its Tower 22 base in Jordan, which the US blames on Islamic Resistance, a coalition of anti-US groups backed by Iran.

Friday’s strikes in Iraq and Syria against Iran-back militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard hit 85 targets across a dozen sites and killed around 18 people.

Iraq has condemned the attacks, calling them a violation of its sovereignty, and said Washington did not consult with Baghdad before they were carried out. On Monday, the US State Department walked back a statement made shortly after the strikes that Iraq had been informed ahead of the military assault.

Tehran said it had no role in the drone strike on the base in Jordan and that the militias act independently. Before Friday’s strikes Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi said that his country would not start a war but would act “strongly” if anyone tried to bully it.

The administration of US President Joe Biden has stopped short of attacking any targets within Iran.

The UN on Monday urged parties in the conflict to pull back from the brink and consider the “unbearable human and economic cost” of a regionwide conflagration.

During a meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the latest escalation, the under-secretary-general for political and peacebuilding affairs, Rosemarie DiCarlo, again called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and for the unconditional release of all Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned to the region on his fifth tour since Israel’s latest war on Gaza. He met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Monday and is expected to travel to Israel, Qatar and Egypt as the US and its regional allies try to deal with a growing humanitarian disaster in Gaza.

Israel and Hamas are yet to agree on plans to release hostages in return for a humanitarian ceasefire, despite diplomatic efforts over the last few weeks.


Lebanese emergency services overwhelmed and desperate for supplies

Lebanese emergency services overwhelmed and desperate for supplies
Updated 2 sec ago
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Lebanese emergency services overwhelmed and desperate for supplies

Lebanese emergency services overwhelmed and desperate for supplies
  • The civil defense forces of one of the world’s most war-torn nations are shocked at the destruction underway in Lebanon
  • An economic crisis that began in 2019 and a massive 2020 port explosion have left Lebanon struggling to provide basic services such as electricity and medical care
BEIRUT: When Israel bombed buildings outside the southern Lebanese city of Sidon, Mohamed Arkadan and his team rushed to an emergency unlike anything they had ever seen.
About a dozen apartments had collapsed onto the hillside they once overlooked, burying more than 100 people. Even after 17 years with the civil defense forces of one of the world’s most war-torn nations, Arkadan was shocked at the destruction. By Monday afternoon — about 24 hours after the bombing — his team had pulled more than 40 bodies — including children’s — from the rubble, along with 60 survivors.
The children’s bodies broke his heart, said Arkadan, 38, but his team of over 30 first responders’ inability to help further pained him more. Firetrucks and ambulances haven’t been replaced in years. Rescue tools and equipment are in short supply. His team has to buy their uniforms out of pocket.
An economic crisis that began in 2019 and a massive 2020 port explosion have left Lebanon struggling to provide basic services such as electricity and medical care. Political divisions have left the country of 6 million without a president or functioning government for more than two years, deepening a national sense of abandonment reaching down to the men whom the people depend on in emergencies.
“We have zero capabilities, zero logistics,” Arkadan said. “We have no gloves, no personal protection gear.”
War has upended Lebanon again
Israel’s intensified air campaign against Hezbollah has upended the country. Over 1,000 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since Sept. 17, nearly a quarter of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes, sleeping on beaches and streets.
The World Health Organization said over 30 primary health care centers around Lebanon’s affected areas have been closed.
On Tuesday, Israel said it began a limited ground operation against Hezbollah and warned people to evacuate several southern communities, promising further escalation.
Lebanon is “grappling with multiple crises, which have overwhelmed the country’s capacity to cope,” said Imran Riza, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon, who said the UN had allocated $24 million in emergency funding for people affected by the fighting.
Exhausted medical staff are struggling to cope with the daily influx of new patients. Under government emergency plans, hospitals and medical workers have halted non-urgent operations.
Government shelters are full
In the southern province of Tyre, many doctors have fled along with residents. In Nabatiyeh, the largest province in southern Lebanon, first responders say they have been working around the clock since last week to reach hundreds of people wounded in bombings that hit dozens of villages and towns, often many on the same day.
After the bombing in Sidon nearly 250 first responders joined Arkadan’s team, including a specialized search-and-rescue unit from Beirut, some 45 kilometers (28 miles) to the north. His team didn’t have the modern equipment needed to pull people from a disaster.
“We used traditional tools, like scissors, cables, shovels,” Arkadan said.
“Anyone here?” rescuers shouted through the gaps in mounds of rubble, searching for survivors buried deeper underground. One excavator removed the debris slowly, to avoid shaking the heaps of bricks and mangled steel.
Many sought refuge in the ancient city of Tyre, 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of the border with Israel, thinking it was likely to be spared bombardment. More than 8,000 people arrived, said Hassan Dbouk, the head of its disaster management unit.
He said that there were no pre-positioned supplies, such as food parcels, hygiene kits and mattresses, and moving trucks now is fraught with danger. Farmers have been denied access to their land because of the bombings and the municipality is struggling to pay salaries.
The humanitarian situation is catastrophic
Meanwhile, garbage is piling up on the streets. The number of municipal workers has shrunk from 160 to 10.
“The humanitarian situation is catastrophic,” Dbouk said.
Wissam Ghazal, the health ministry official in Tyre, said in one hospital, only five of 35 doctors have remained. In Tyre province, eight medics, including three with a medical organization affiliated with Hezbollah, were killed over two days, he said.
Over the weekend, the city itself became a focus of attacks.
Israeli warplanes struck near the port city’s famed ruins, along its beaches and in residential and commercial areas, forcing thousands of residents to flee. At least 15 civilians were killed Saturday and Sunday, including two municipal workers, a soldier and several children, all but one from two families.
It took rescuers two days to comb through the rubble of a home in the Kharab neighborhood in the city’s center, where a bomb had killed nine members of the Al-Samra family.
Six premature babies in incubators around the city were moved to Beirut. The city’s only doctor, who looked after them, couldn’t move between hospitals under fire, Ghazal said.
One of the district’s four hospitals shut after sustaining damage from a strike that affected its electricity supply and damaged the operations room. In two other hospitals, glass windows were broken. For now, the city’s hospitals are receiving more killed than wounded.
“But you don’t know what will happen when the intensity of attacks increases. We will definitely need more.”
Making do with what they have
Hosein Faqih, head of civil defense in the Nabatiyeh province, said that “we are working in very difficult and critical circumstances because the strikes are random. We have no protection. We have no shields, no helmets, no extra hoses. The newest vehicle is 25 years old. We are still working despite all that.”
At least three of his firefighters’ team were killed in early September. Ten have been injured since then. Of 45 vehicles, six were hit and are now out of service.
Faqih said he is limiting his team’s search-and-rescue missions to residential areas, keeping them away from forests or open areas where they used to put out fires.
“These days, there is something difficult every day. Body parts are everywhere, children, civilians and bodies under rubble,” Faqih said. Still, he said, he considers his job to be the safety net for the people.
“We serve the people, and we will work with what we have.”

Yemen’s Houthis say they targeted Israeli military posts with rockets

Yemen’s Houthis say they targeted Israeli military posts with rockets
Updated 10 min 4 sec ago
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Yemen’s Houthis say they targeted Israeli military posts with rockets

Yemen’s Houthis say they targeted Israeli military posts with rockets
  • There was no announcement from the Israeli military about rocket fire from Yemen

SANAA: Yemen’s Houthis targeted military posts deep in Israel with three winged ‘Quds 5’ rockets, the group’s military spokesperson Yahya Saree said on Wednesday.
There was no announcement from the Israeli military about rocket fire from Yemen on Wednesday.
The Houthi militants, backed by Iran, have repeatedly fired missiles and drones at Israel in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians, since the Gaza war began with a Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7.
The group said the continuous support to Israel from the United States and the United Kingdom will put their interests ‘under fire’.
“We will not hesitate in broadening our military operations against the Israeli enemy and who is behind it until the aggression against Gaza and Lebanon ends,” Saree added.


Airlines in the Gulf adjust routes after Iran’s attack on Israel

Airlines in the Gulf adjust routes after Iran’s attack on Israel
Updated 29 min 51 sec ago
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Airlines in the Gulf adjust routes after Iran’s attack on Israel

Airlines in the Gulf adjust routes after Iran’s attack on Israel
  • Neighboring countries have closed their airspace and airline crews are navigating alternative routes to avoid the escalating conflict

DUBAI: Several airlines operating in the Gulf have adjusted their flight routes to ensure passenger safety following Iran’s attack on Israel.

Neighboring countries have closed their airspace and airline crews are navigating alternative routes to avoid the escalating conflict.

Etihad Airways

Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways said it is rerouting several flights on Wednesday due to airspace restrictions in parts of the Middle East. Etihad said it is continuously monitoring security and airspace updates as the situation evolves.

Emirates Airlines

Emirates canceled all flights to and from Iraq (Basra and Baghdad), Iran, and Jordan on Oct. 2 and 3. The airline is closely monitoring the situation in the region and is in contact with relevant authorities regarding any developments.

Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways temporarily suspended flights to and from Iraq and Iran due to airspace closures.

Flydubai

Flydubai canceled flights to Jordan, Iraq, Israel, and Iran on Oct. 2 and 3 due to the temporary closure of airspace, according to a statement provided to Reuters.

Kuwait Airways

Kuwait Airways said on Tuesday it had adjusted the flight routes for some of its services, resulting in changes to destination timings.

“This is in application of necessary security measures and to ensure the safety of passengers,” the airline said.

A spokesperson for tracking service FlightRadar24 said flights diverted “anywhere they could,” and a snapshot of traffic in the region showed flights spreading in wide arcs to the north and south, with many converging on Cairo and Istanbul.

FlightRadar24 said Istanbul and Antalya in southern Turkiye were becoming congested, forcing some airlines to divert south.

Iran launched the strikes in retaliation for Israel’s campaign against Tehran’s Hezbollah allies in Lebanon, and Israel vowed a “painful response” against its enemy.

Eurocontrol, a pan-European air traffic control agency, earlier sent a warning to pilots about the escalating conflict.

“A major missile attack has been launched against Israel in the last few minutes. At present the entire country is under a missile warning,” it said in an urgent navigation bulletin.

Shortly afterwards it announced the closure of Jordanian and Iraqi airspace as well as the closure of a key crossing point into airspace controlled by Cyprus.

An Iraqi pilot bulletin said its Baghdad-controlled airspace was “closed due to security until further notice.”

Iraq’s transport ministry later announced the reopening of Iraqi airspace to incoming and outgoing civilian flights at Iraqi airports. FlightRadar24 said on X that “it will be a while before flights are active there again.”

Jordan also reopened its airspace after closing it following the volley of Iranian missiles fired toward Israel, the Jordanian state news agency reported.

Lebanon’s airspace will be closed to air traffic for a two-hour period on Tuesday, Transport Minister Ali Hamie said on X.

The latest disruptions are expected to deal a further blow to an industry already facing a host of restrictions due to conflicts between Israel and Hamas, and Russia and Ukraine.


Palestinian officials say 32 killed in Israeli strikes on southern Gaza

Palestinian officials say 32 killed in Israeli strikes on southern Gaza
Updated 02 October 2024
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Palestinian officials say 32 killed in Israeli strikes on southern Gaza

Palestinian officials say 32 killed in Israeli strikes on southern Gaza
  • The European Hospital in Khan Younis said it received the bodies after heavy Israeli airstrikes and ground operations in the city
  • The dead include several women and children

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: At least 32 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in southern Gaza killed at least 32 people overnight and into Wednesday, Palestinian medical officials said.
The European Hospital in the hard-hit city of Khan Younis said it received the bodies after heavy Israeli airstrikes and ground operations in the city. It said the dead include several women and children, and that dozens of people were wounded.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
Israel has continued to strike what it says are militant targets across Gaza nearly a year after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack ignited the war there, even as attention has shifted to Lebanon, where Israel is battling Hezbollah, and to Iran, which launched a ballistic missile attack on Israel late Tuesday.
Dr. Saleh Al-Hams, head of the nursing department at the European Hospital, said dozens of dead and wounded people were brought to his facility and the Nasser Hospital starting at around 3 a.m. Some of the wounded were in critical condition, meaning the death toll could rise, he said.
He said Israel had carried out heavy airstrikes as its ground forces staged an incursion into three neighborhoods in Khan Younis. Israel carried out a massive offensive earlier this year that left large parts of the city in ruins.
Over the course of the war, Israeli forces have repeatedly returned to areas of Gaza where they have previously fought Hamas and other armed groups as the militants have regrouped.
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people on Oct. 7 and took around 250 hostage. Around 100 are still in captivity in Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 41,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, flattened wide areas across Gaza and displaced the vast majority of its 2.3 million people, often multiple times.


Hezbollah says clashed with Israeli troops who tried to ‘infiltrate’ into Lebanon

Hezbollah says clashed with Israeli troops who tried to ‘infiltrate’ into Lebanon
Updated 02 October 2024
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Hezbollah says clashed with Israeli troops who tried to ‘infiltrate’ into Lebanon

Hezbollah says clashed with Israeli troops who tried to ‘infiltrate’ into Lebanon

BEIRUT: Hezbollah said Wednesday it clashed with Israeli soldiers who tried to infiltrate into Lebanon, and also targeted Israeli troops across the border, according to statements from the Iran-backed Lebanese group.
Hezbollah fighters confronted “an Israeli enemy infantry force that tried to infiltrate into the village of Adaysseh... and clashed with them,” a statement said, adding separately that Hezbollah fighters also targeted Israeli forces at three different points across the border with rockets and artillery.