Israel-Hamas war: US, UK launch strikes on Houthi targets
The US and Britain have struck Yemen after attacks on shipping by Iran-backed Houthi rebels that have disrupted global trade and put lives at risk. Follow updates.
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The United States and Britain struck dozens of targets in Yemen in response to repeated attacks on shipping by Iran-backed Houthi rebels that have disrupted global trade and put lives at risk.
The joint air raids in Yemen come a day after a wave of unilateral American strikes against Iran-linked targets in Iraq and Syria that were carried out in response to the killing of three US soldiers in Jordan on January 28.
The strikes hit “36 Huthi targets across 13 locations in Yemen in response to the Huthis’ continued attacks against international and commercial shipping as well as naval vessels transiting the Red Sea,” the United States, Britain and other countries that provided support for the operation said in a statement.
“These precision strikes are intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities that the Huthis use to threaten global trade, and the lives of innocent mariners,” the statement said.
The assault “targeted sites associated with the Huthis’ deeply buried weapons storage facilities, missile systems and launchers, air defence systems, and radars.”
US forces earlier separately carried out strikes against six Huthi anti-ship missiles that were “prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea,” the Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
The military command also said that US forces shot down eight drones near Yemen the day before and destroyed four more before they could be launched.
CENTCOM said the four drones hit on the ground belonged to the Huthis, but did not identify a country or group linked to those that were shot out of the air.
The Huthis began targeting Red Sea shipping in November, saying they were hitting Israel-linked vessels in support of Palestinians in Gaza, which has been ravaged by the Israel-Hamas war.
US and British forces have responded with strikes against the Huthis, who have since declared American and British interests to be legitimate targets as well.
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DEADLY STRIKES HIT ‘PRESSURE COOKER’ RAFAH
Deadly strikes were reported early Saturday in the overcrowded Gaza border town of Rafah – dubbed a “pressure cooker of despair” by the UN – as international mediators readied a new push to seal a tentative truce deal between Israel and Hamas.
Hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have fled south to Rafah since the outbreak of the war, with the former city of 200,000 now housing more than half of Gaza’s two million-plus population, a WHO representative said.
The United Nations’ humanitarian agency OCHA said it was deeply concerned about the escalation of hostilities in nearby Khan Yunis, which have pushed more and more people south in recent days.
“Most are living in makeshift structures, tents or out in the open,” OCHA spokesman Jens Laerke said during a briefing in Geneva.
“Rafah is a pressure cooker of despair, and we fear for what comes next.”
BIDEN HITS BACK HARD AGAINST IRAN
The US has launched a powerful series of air strikes against Iranian-backed militia forces in Syria and Iraq, the beginning of what defence chiefs have warned will be an intense campaign that will run for several days.
The military action is in retaliation for a drone attack that killed three US soldiers and injured at least 40 service members at a remote outpost in Jordan last weekend. American news outlets reported that at least seven sites had been struck so far in Iraq and Syria, while Iran’s state news agency said at least 10 people had been killed.
President Joe Biden said earlier this week that he had decided on a response to the deadly drone attack spearheaded by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella organisation of Iranian proxy forces.
The air strikes were launched about an hour after the President attended a ceremony at the Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Friday (local time) to mark the return of the bodies of the three soldiers.
In a statement, Mr Biden confirmed that US military forces struck targets used by the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps and associated militia groups to attack American troops
“Our response began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing,” the President said.
“The United States does not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world. But let all those who might seek to do us harm know this: If you harm an American, we will respond.”
The US military said more than 85 targets were hit in Iraq and Syria.
“The air strikes employed more than 125 precision munitions,” US Central Command posted on X.It said the targets included command, control and intelligence centres and also rocket, missile and drone storage facilities belonging to militia groups and Iranian forces “who facilitated attacks against US and coalition forces.”
Senior Biden administration officials had previously said that “it will be pretty clear” when the US retaliation campaign had started.
“The first thing you see won’t be the last,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin had also threatened to carry out strikes for as long as was required.
“They have a lot of capability. I have a lot more,” he said on Thursday.
The Biden administration is also planning to use economic sanctions and diplomacy to safeguard American forces operating in the Middle East. But the use of military force pushes the US closer to the possibility of direct conflict with Iran and a broader war in the region, which has been in turmoil since the Hamas-Israel war exploded on October 7 last year.
However, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., blasted President Biden’s “long overdue” response following retaliatory strikes carried out in Syria and Iraq on Friday evening, Fox News reported.
Johnson said that the “tragic deaths” of the three American soldiers, who were killed in an Iran-backed drone attack, “demanded” a “clear and forceful response” from the Biden administration.
“The tragic deaths of three U.S. troops in Jordan, perpetrated by Iran-backed militias, demanded a clear and forceful response,” Johnson said in a statement on Friday evening. “Unfortunately, the administration waited for a week and telegraphed to the world, including to Iran, the nature of our response.”
Johnson said that the Biden administration’s “excessive signalling” weakens America’s standing.
“The public hand-wringing and excessive signalling undercuts our ability to put a decisive end to the barrage of attacks endured over the past few months,” he said.
The Republican house speaker noted that since Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israel on Oct. 7, U.S. troops have suffered more than 150 attacks in the Middle East.
Johnson argued that it was time for the Biden administration to “admit” that its Middle East foreign policy has been “disastrous.”
ISRAEL REVEALS NEXT TARGET AS HAMAS RESPONDS TO HOSTAGE DEAL
Israel will shift forces to the town of Rafah in the south of Gaza, and north towards the border of Lebanon, as troops target Hamas’s last major stronghold and turn their attention to “what’s next” with Hezbollah.
It comes as Hamas gave its “initial” approval to a hostage-for-prisoner exchange deal that would pause fighting “in the next couple of weeks”.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the shift to Rafah, where thousands of Palestinians have fled from the war-torn north, would hasten the release of the hostages.
“We are achieving our missions in Khan Younis, and we will also reach Rafah and eliminate terror elements that threaten us,” Mr Yoav said.
He added that other units were leaving Gaza and “moving up to the north and preparing for what’s to come”, about the Israeli-Lebanese border where clashes are increasing with Iran-back Hezbollah.
HAMAS GIVES ‘INITIAL’ APPROVAL TO HOSTAGE DEAL
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman, Majed al-Ansari, said that recent talks in Paris between Qatari, US, Israeli and Egyptian officials had yielded a consolidated truce proposal.
“That proposal has been approved by the Israeli side and now we have an initial positive confirmation from the Hamas side.”
Ansari said there were hopes of “good news” about a new pause in the fighting “in the next couple of weeks”.
But a source close to Hamas told AFP “There is no agreement on the framework of the agreement yet — the factions have important observations — and the Qatari statement is rushed and not true.”
RAFAH A ‘PRESSURE COOKER OF DESPAIR’
The UN voiced fears Friday about worsening conditions in southern Gaza, saying a surge in people seeking safety in Rafah had made the town a “pressure cooker of despair”.
The United Nations’ humanitarian agency OCHA said it was deeply concerned about the escalation of hostilities in Khan Yunis, which had resulted in increased numbers heading further south to Rafah in recent days.
“Most are living in makeshift structures, tents or out in the open,” OCHA spokesman Jens Laerke told a briefing in Geneva.
“Rafahis a pressure cooker of despair, and we fear for what comes next,” Laerke said.
HAMAS MULLS HOSTAGE PLAN
Hamas said a proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages was “still being studied”, describing Qatar’s statement as “rushed and not true”.
US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators met with Israeli intelligence officials in Paris on Sunday where they proposed a six-week pause in the Gaza war and a hostage-prisoner exchange for Hamas to review.
However, a senior Palestinian source told Lebanese news outlet Al-Mayadeen that Qatar jumped too quick in appearing to announce that Hamas had given initial approval to the ceasefire proposal.
“There is no agreement on the framework of the agreement yet … and the Qatari statement is rushed and not true,” the source told AFP in Gaza.
An official from Hamas also told Reuters that they had “received the Paris truce proposal but we haven’t given response to any of parties, it is still being studied”.
“We cannot say the current stage of negotiation is zero and at the same time we cannot say that we have reached an agreement,” Taher al-Nono, the media adviser to Hamas said.
The Qatari foreign ministry spokesman earlier said there was “still a very tough road in front of us”.
“We are optimistic because both sides now agreed to the premise that would lead to a next pause,” Ansari said.
“We’re hopeful that in the next couple of weeks, we’ll be able to share good news about that.
MIDDLE EAST-BOUND SHIP RE-DOCKS IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA
A ship carrying thousands of livestock set to be transported to the Middle East has re-docked in Western Australia after being stranded at sea for almost a month.
More than 15,000 animals, mostly sheep, have spent about four weeks aboard the MV Bahijah since it set sail from Fremantle, on January 5.
The ship abandoned its plan to voyage through the Red Sea because of the “worsening security situation” there and was directed to return to Australia, the Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
It docked back in Fremantle on Thursday after reaching the Western Australian coast earlier in the week.
The animals have been exposed to “cumulative stress” during their long trip, said RSPCA Australia chief science officer Suzanne Fowler.
She cited the movement of the ship, the risk of disease, and conditions aboard including the heat, with temperatures in Fremantle reaching about 38 degrees Celsius on Thursday.
DETAILS ON TRUCE DEAL RELEASED
The Qatar-based leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, is expected in Cairo on Thursday or Friday for talks on a proposed truce.
A Hamas source told AFP the three-stage plan would start with an initial six-week halt to the fighting that would see more aid deliveries into the Gaza Strip.
Only “women, children and sick men over 60” held by Gaza militants would be freed during that stage in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israel, the source said, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks.
There would also be “negotiations around the withdrawal of Israeli forces”, with possible additional phases involving more hostage-prisoner exchanges, said the source, adding the territory’s rebuilding was also among issues addressed by the deal.
US IMPOSES SANCTIONS ON ISRAELI SETTLERS
The United States has imposed sanctions on several Israeli settlers for attacking Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank, accusing them of undermining stability and security in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
The announcement on Thursday comes amid increasing pressure on President Joe Biden over his unwavering support for Israel’s war on Gaza as he campaigns for re-election in November.
The sanctions will freeze the individuals’ assets in the US and restrict financial dealings with them.
The White House also announced a new decree to penalise perpetrators of “extremist settler violence” in the West Bank.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement that settler violence “poses a grave threat to peace, security, and stability in the West Bank, Israel, and the Middle East region, and threatens the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States”.
I signed an Executive Order allowing the U.S. to issue sanctions against those who direct or participate in acts of violence against civilians in the West Bank, including extremist settlers.
— President Biden (@POTUS) February 1, 2024
Today’s action seeks to promote security for Israelis and Palestinians alike.
UK COULD RECOGNISE PALESTINIAN STATE AFTER GAZA CEASEFIRE
Britain could officially recognise a Palestinian state after a ceasefire in Gaza without waiting for the outcome of what could be years-long talks between Israel and the Palestinians on a two-state solution, the UK foreign secretary David Cameron said.
In an interview with the Associated Press on Thursday, Mr Cameron said no recognition could come while Hamas remained in Gaza, but that it could take place while Israeli negotiations with Palestinian leaders were continuing.
Britain’s recognition of an independent state of Palestine, including in the UN, “can’t come at the start of the process, but it doesn’t have to be the very end of the process”.
“It could be something that we consider as this process, as this advance to a solution, becomes more real … What we need to do is give the Palestinian people a horizon towards a better future, the future of having a state of their own,” he said.
“That prospect is “absolutely vital for the long-term peace and security of the region.”
BELGIUM SUMMONS ISRAELI AMBASSADOR OVER OFFICE BOMBING
Belgium’s Minister of Development Cooperation Caroline Gennez has said that she and Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib will summon Israel’s ambassador over the destruction of a building hosting the Belgian Agency for Development Cooperation in Gaza.
“The office building of Enabel, the Belgian Agency for Development Cooperation, in Gaza, has been bombed and is completely destroyed,” Gennez said in a social media post.
“Attacking civilian buildings is and remains totally unacceptable. Together with [Hadja Lahbib], I will summon the Israeli ambassador.”
The office building of @Enabel, the Belgian Agency for Development Cooperation, in #Gaza has been bombed and is completely destroyed.
— Caroline Gennez (@carogennez) February 1, 2024
Attacking civilian buildings is and remains totally unacceptable.
Together with @hadjalahbib, I will summon the Israeli ambassador. pic.twitter.com/CYnsrPhdtA
PROTESTERS MARCH OUTSIDE BIDEN VISIT
Hundreds of protesters have marched Michigan seeking to pressure visiting US President Joe Biden to end support for Israel as it fights Hamas in Gaza.
“We won’t vote on election day,” marchers chant, driving home Democratic concerns of how the administration’s stance could affect Biden’s chances of carrying the key swing state in November, home to the US’s largest concentration of Arab-Americans.
Activists with the “Abandon Biden” movement said earlier that demonstrators are “on standby” and that protests will be held at the president’s events once they determine the locations.
ACTIONAID ‘HORRIFIED’ AT HOSPITAL BOMBING
The al-Awda hospital in northern Gaza has been hit by bombing at least three times in the last three days.
Several people were injured, and the building also suffered damaged in these “reprehensible” attacks, the organisation said in a statement on Thursday.
The hospital is one of the only functional hospitals in the north of Gaza and the only facility able to provide maternity services.
Dr Adnan, the hospital’s head of obstetrics and gynaecology, said the staff “will never stop” working despite coming under attack.
“We are peaceful people, and we provide a purely medical service, and we have no relation to anything,” he said.
US APPROVES STRIKES ON IRAN ‘PERSONNEL AND FACILITIES’
Plans have been approved for the US military to launch a series of strikes targeting Iranian “personnel and facilities” in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for the death of three American troops.
US officials speaking on condition of anonymity said the weather would determine when the strikes would begin, adding the attacks “won’t be a one-off”.
It comes after the White House officially blamed the drone attack on a US base in Jordan as being launched by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella of Iran-backed militias like Kataib Hezbollah.
US officials told CBS News the military was waiting for improved weather before launching the strikes in an effort to minimise civilian casualties due to poor visibility.
Iran threatened to “decisively respond” if the US attacked the Islamic Republic to retaliate for Sunday’s attack on Tower 22, which killed three and injured more than 40.
“(US President Joe Biden) believes that it is important to respond in an appropriate way,” said National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby.
“The first thing you see won’t be the last thing … it won’t be a one-off.”
HOSTAGES TAKEN AT PROCTER AND GAMBLE TURKEY
An armed man has taken a group of workers hostage at a plant owned by US consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble near Istanbul in protest at the war in Gaza, police said.
A union representing the sprawling complex on the industrial eastern outskirts of Turkey’s largest city said the man was holding seven people after allowing the others to escape.
A police spokesman could not confirm the figure to AFP and the US embassy in Ankara referred all queries to Turkish officials.
“Earlier today, we evacuated our Gebze facility and are working with local authorities to resolve an urgent security situation,” P&G said in a statement released to AFP.
The private DHA news agency published a photo widely circulated online of a man holding a gun with what appeared to be a suicide vest strapped to his chest.
He was standing next to a drawing of the Palestinian flag and the words “the door will be opened for Gaza” painted on the wall in red.
AFP could not immediately verify the image, which Turkish media said came from a social media feed set up by the hostage taker.
Haberturk television said police had established contact with the assailant and were attempting to negotiate the hostages’ release.
AFP reporters saw anti-riot police moving closer to the plant as the crisis stretched into the night on Thursday local time.
US STRIKES AGAINST YEMEN
A new explosion was reported off Yemen after US strikes targeted 10 attack drones and a ground control station belonging to the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
The explosion, reported by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency, happened near a vessel west of the port city of Hodeida on Thursday local time.
No damage to the ship or injuries to the crew was reported.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, which followed a flurry of missile strikes by the Houthis who have harassed Red Sea shipping for months, triggering reprisal attacks by the United States and Britain.
Early Thursday in Yemen, US forces targeted a “Houthi UAV ground control station and 10 Houthi one-way UAVs” that “presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the US Navy ships in the region”, a CENTCOM statement said, using an abbreviation for unmanned aerial vehicles or drones.
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Originally published as Israel-Hamas war: US, UK launch strikes on Houthi targets
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