Houthis claim attacking US, Israeli ships

Special Houthis claim attacking US, Israeli ships
A Houthi supporter raises a mock rocket during a rally against the US and Israel and to support Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, April. 26, 2024. (AP Photo)
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Updated 01 May 2024
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Houthis claim attacking US, Israeli ships

Houthis claim attacking US, Israeli ships
  • Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said that their armed forces launched a number of explosive-laden drones at two US Navy warships in the Red Sea
  • Militia also targeted the MSC Orion commercial ship with drones in the Indian Ocean

AL-MUKALLA: Yemen’s Houthi militia has claimed responsibility for four strikes on international commercial and navy ships in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, including one on a ship destined for Oman.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said on Tuesday that their armed forces launched a number of explosive-laden drones at two US Navy warships in the Red Sea and targeted the MSC Orion commercial ship with drones in the Indian Ocean, which they claimed was related to Israel.

The MSC Orion is a container ship flying the Portuguese flag and traveling from Portugal’s Sines port to Oman’s Salalah port, according to websites that provide information on ship whereabouts and identities.

BACKGROUND

Hostilities in Yemen’s flashpoints have generally abated since April 2022, when the UN-brokered ceasefire went into effect.

Oman is one of few nations to host Houthi officials, and its delegations have visited Houthi-controlled Sanaa to push for peace in Yemen.

The Houthis said they also targeted the Cyclades commercial ship for reaching the Israeli Eilat port on April 21, violating earlier instructions to ships in the Red Sea not to go to Israel.

Since November, more than 100 ships sailing in the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandab Strait, and Gulf of Aden have been attacked by hundreds of drones and ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis in support of the Palestinian people against Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.

The Houthi assaults have prompted the US to organize an alliance of naval task forces and start airstrikes on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.

The US Central Command said in a statement that the Houthis fired on Monday three anti-ship ballistic missiles and three drones from areas under their control at the MV Cyclades, which it said is owned by Greece and sails under the flag of Malta, with no reported damage to the ship.

Also on Monday, US CENTCOM forces destroyed one airborne unmanned aerial vehicle launched by the Houthis against the US Navy ships USS Philippine Sea and USS Laboon in the Red Sea.

“There were no injuries or damages reported by US, coalition, or merchant vessels. It was determined the UAV presented an imminent threat to US, coalition, and merchant vessels in the region,” US CENTCOM said.

The EU military operation in the Red Sea, known as the Eunavfor Aspides Operation, said its Fasan frigate shot down one drone on Monday while guarding a commercial ship in the Red Sea from multiple attacks from Houthi-controlled regions of Yemen.

Rashad Al-Alimi, chairman of Yemen’s internationally recognized Presidential Leadership Council, accused the Houthis on Tuesday of not being serious about achieving peace in Yemen and of using the UN-brokered truce to regroup and prepare to restart the war.

In a meeting of Yemen’s military officials in the central city of Marib, Al-Alimi vowed that the Yemeni government would drive the Houthis from the areas under their control, including Sanaa, and thwart their attempts to restart the conflict.

“The Houthi militia has shown that it is not a genuine partner in peacemaking, but rather views peace talks as a kind of deceit and preparation for fresh conflicts,” Al-Alimi said, according to the official news agency SABA.

Hostilities in Yemen’s flashpoints have generally abated since April 2022, when the UN-brokered ceasefire went into effect. The Yemeni government, however, said that the Houthis continue to wage lethal assaults on its troops in Marib, Dhale, Taiz, and other locations, and to mobilize personnel and military equipment outside of contested towns.

Meanwhile, six Yemeni troops were killed and 11 injured on Monday after an improvised explosive device placed by Al-Qaeda militants blew up their vehicle in the Moudia district in the southern province of Abyan.

The targeted troops were members of a military unit allied to the pro-independence Southern Transitional Council, which has been fighting Al-Qaeda in Abyan and Shabwa for months.


Lebanon says one dead, 15 wounded in Israel strike on south Beirut

Lebanon says one dead, 15 wounded in Israel strike on south Beirut
Updated 52 min 50 sec ago
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Lebanon says one dead, 15 wounded in Israel strike on south Beirut

Lebanon says one dead, 15 wounded in Israel strike on south Beirut
  • The strike was not preceded by an Israeli evacuation warning

BEIRUT: Lebanon's health ministry said one person was killed and 15 others were wounded Saturday in an Israeli strike on Hezbollah's south Beirut stronghold, which has been hard hit by the Israel-Hezbollah war.
The ministry announcement came as the official National News Agency said the "Israeli enemy launched a raid near Karout Mall... in the southern suburbs of Beirut".
The strike was not preceded by an Israeli evacuation warning.
According to an AFP photographer, the strike targeted an abandoned building, which includes a car dealership on the ground floor.
The area was cordoned of by the army and security forces.
Beirut's southern suburbs have been heavily bombed by Israel since its war with Hezbollah erupted in September.
The war has killed more than 1,900 people in Lebanon since September 23, according to an AFP tally based on figures from Lebanon's health ministry.


Archaeologists unearth an ancient Middle Kingdom Egyptian tomb in Luxor

Archaeologists unearth an ancient Middle Kingdom Egyptian tomb in Luxor
Updated 02 November 2024
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Archaeologists unearth an ancient Middle Kingdom Egyptian tomb in Luxor

Archaeologists unearth an ancient Middle Kingdom Egyptian tomb in Luxor
  • Some items such as jewelry in women’s burials were found intact, including a finely crafted necklace with 30 amethyst beads

CAIRO: Archaeologists from Egypt and the United States unearthed an ancient tomb with 11 sealed burials near the famed city of Luxor, Egyptian authorities said.
Egypt’s Tourism and Antiquities Ministry said in a statement Friday the tomb, which dates back to the Middle Kingdom (1938 B.C.-1630 B.C.), was found in the South Asasif necropolis, next to the Temple of Hatshepsut on the Nile’s West Bank in Luxor.
The joint Egyptian-American mission excavating the necropolis found coffins for men, women and children, suggesting that it was a family tomb used for generations during the 12th Dynasty and the beginning of the 13th Dynasty, said Mohamed Ismail Khaled, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Egypt.
He said ancient floods destroyed most of the burials’ wooden coffins and linen wrappings.
However, some items such as jewelry in women’s burials were found intact, including a finely crafted necklace with 30 amethyst beads and two cylindrical agate beads framing a hippo-head amulet, according to the statement.
Catherine Blakeney, chief American archaeologist with the mission, said they found two copper mirrors, one with a lotus-shaped handle, and the second with a unique design of Hathor, goddess of the sky, women, fertility and love in ancient Egypt.
The discovery came as Egypt has doubled efforts to attract more tourists, a significant source of foreign currency for the cash-strapped North African country. Tourism, which depends heavily on Egypt’s rich Pharaonic artifacts, suffered a long downturn after the political turmoil and violence that followed a 2011 uprising.
Last month, the Grand Egyptian Museum, a mega project near the famed Giza Pyramids, opened 12 halls exhibiting Pharaonic artifacts for visitors as a trial ahead of the yet-unannounced official opening.


Israel army says intercepted three drones over Red Sea

Israel army says intercepted three drones over Red Sea
Updated 02 November 2024
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Israel army says intercepted three drones over Red Sea

Israel army says intercepted three drones over Red Sea
  • Iraqi pro-Iran groups say carried out drone attack on Israel’s Eilat

Jerusalem: The Israeli military said on Saturday it had intercepted three drones launched from the east over the Red Sea, without specifying where they came from.
“A short while ago, three UAVs that were launched from the east were intercepted over the Red Sea.... the UAVs were intercepted prior to crossing into Israeli territory,” the military said in a statement.

Iraqi pro-Iran groups say carried out drone attack

A coalition of pro-Iran groups in Iraq said it carried out four drone attacks on the Israeli resort of Eilat on Saturday, after Israel said it intercepted three drones approaching from the east.
In a statement, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq it was behind the attacks on what it called “four vital targets” in the resort on Israel’s Red Sea coast, all conducted within one hour.


Jordan warns of increasing regional unrest and vows to protect its airspace, borders

Jordan warns of increasing regional unrest and vows to protect its airspace, borders
Updated 02 November 2024
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Jordan warns of increasing regional unrest and vows to protect its airspace, borders

Jordan warns of increasing regional unrest and vows to protect its airspace, borders

CAIRO: Jordan on Saturday warned against intercepting its airspace and the infringement of its borders as unrest increases in the region. 

Jordan reaffirms its “rejection of attempts by some regional parties to violate its airspace, especially by launching drones that some of which have entered the Kingdom’s airspace and parts had fallen inside Jordanian territory,” said government spokesperson Mohammad Momani according to Petra news agency.  

The spokesperson pointed out that two incidents of this sort had occurred recently in the governorates of Irbid and Jerash, describing it as “a threat that Jordan was dealing with within the military rules of engagement, and that it was taking all necessary measures to confront these violations.”

The minister warned of “increasing regional unrest, reiterating that Jordan will not be a conflict zone for any party, and will not allow warplanes, missiles or drones to pass through its airspace.”

 


US-Israeli settlers hope to see a second Trump term

US-Israeli settlers hope to see a second Trump term
Updated 02 November 2024
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US-Israeli settlers hope to see a second Trump term

US-Israeli settlers hope to see a second Trump term
  • Recent polls show that a majority of Israelis dream of the days when the former president inhabited the White House
  • Donald Trump prioritized Israel during his previous term, moving the American embassy to Jerusalem among his other actions

SHILOH, Palestinian Territories: Less than a week before the United States presidential election, Americans living in settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank know exactly who they want to win: Donald Trump.
Recent polls show that a majority of Israelis, 66 percent according to one conducted by Israel’s Channel 12 News, dream of the days when the former president inhabited the White House.
Trump prioritized Israel during his previous term, moving the American embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights and helping to normalize ties between Israel and several Arab states under the so-called Abraham Accords.
Now, many Israelis believe Trump will offer yet more support as the country battles Iran-backed militant groups in Gaza and Lebanon, as well as Iran itself.
“I’m proud to tell you that I voted for President Trump,” Eliana Passentin, 50, who moved to Israel from San Francisco as a child, said.
For Passentin, a mother and grandmother, the stakes are higher than for the average Israeli.
For the past 29 years she has lived in Eli, part of a cluster of Israeli settlements located in the heart of the West Bank.
The area has been occupied by Israel since 1967, but it could become Palestinian sovereign territory under a two-state solution favored by the international community.
Passentin is employed by the local regional council.
She recalls how successive administrations in Washington pressured Israel to stop expanding settlements in an attempt to mediate peace between Israelis and Palestinians and reach a two-state solution.
“United States of America, our greatest ally, we thank you, but please understand we know how to run our country,” Passentin said.
In her backyard, with sweeping views of the entire area, Passentin points to nearby Israeli and Palestinian towns.
“I don’t think that Israelis living here are an obstacle to peace. On the contrary, I think that the Israelis living here are building the region for everyone,” she said.
She said the region was a hub for Jews in Biblical times, and claims that under international agreements Israelis have a right to live here.
International law says otherwise, however, and Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal by the international community.
Among Israelis who vote for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling right-wing coalition, 93 percent support Trump’s candidacy, according to the Channel 12 poll.
“Things have changed since October 7,” Passentin said, referring to Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on that day in 2023 which sparked the war in Gaza.
“Now it’s a whole different story — it’s not about Judea and Samaria, it’s about Israel,” she said, using the Biblical terms for the southern and northern West Bank.
“We have a right to defend ourselves... and I think President Trump respects and understands that.”
Gedaliah Blum, 45, a neighbor who was born in New Jersey, also said he voted for Trump based on the question of “what kind of future we want to have here in Israel.”
“Do we want a future that has an embargo threatened on Israel every time we defend ourselves?” he asked.
“Trump is not going to pressure Israel to sign a ceasefire that will let Hamas remain in power in Gaza. They’re not going to push Israel to sign a peace agreement with Lebanon that will allow Hezbollah to remain in power.”
With Kamala Harris in the Oval Office, Israel will be under constant “pressure,” Blum said.
“We’re going to get pressure, we’re going to get embargoes, we’re going to get Iranian money in their pockets. It’s not in the best interest of Israel.”
In the nearby settlement of Shiloh, where an estimated 20 percent of residents hold US citizenship, New York-born Yisrael Medad, 77, said he believed Trump would be good not only for America but also for “America’s friends abroad, including Israel.”
“I think the policies that a Republican candidate such as Trump are promoting are most beneficial for the administration, Congress and the American people,” he said.
On Israel, Medad said he believed that Trump would treat Israel more “fairly in terms of not denying its rights to defend itself... not only in a physical sense but also on the ideological front.”
Referring to a recent incident at a Democratic campaign rally in which Harris did not push back against a demonstrator who said Israel was committing a “genocide” in Gaza, Medad said: “That’s not the type of candidate I want in the White House.”