Category Archives: Houthis

Sinking of Rubymar in Red Sea poses grave environmental risks, experts warn

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Leaking fuel and thousands of tonnes of fertiliser could harm marine ecosystems and affect coastal fishing communities

The sinking of a bulk carrier off the coast of Yemen after a Houthi missile attack poses grave environmental risks as thousands of tonnes of fertiliser threaten to spill into the Red Sea, officials and experts have warned.

Leaking fuel and the chemical pollutant could harm marine life, including coral reefs, and affect coastal communities that rely on fishing for their livelihoods, they said.

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Italian warship forced to shoot down Houthi missile in Red Sea

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Destroyer Caio Duilio, part of the EU shipping protection force, took out weapon when it came within four miles of the vessel

An Italian warship participating in the EU naval protection force in the Red Sea was forced to shoot down a Houthi missile on Saturday in a rare engagement by the country’s navy, which has largely avoided direct action since the second world war.

The incident came as Houthi officials vowed to continue to attack British ships after the UK-owned Rubymar sank on Saturday having taken on water for a fortnight after being hit by one of the group’s missiles.

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Middle East crisis: Ceasefire deal possible within 24 to 48 hours if Israel accepts demands, Hamas official says – as it happened

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Senior Hamas official says if Israel accepts demand for military withdrawal from Gaza and increase in aid, it would pave way for agreement. This live blog is closed

Born a month into Israel’s war in Gaza, infant twins Wesam and Naeem Abu Anza were buried on Sunday, the youngest of 14 members of the same family whom Gaza health authorities say were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Rafah overnight.

Reuters reports:

Their mother, Rania Abu Anza, held one of the twins, its tiny body wrapped in a white shroud, to her cheek and stroked its head during the funeral on Sunday. A mourner held the second baby close by, pale blue pyjamas visible beneath a shroud.

“My heart is gone,” wept Abu Anza, whose husband was also killed, as mourners comforted her. She resisted when asked to release the body of one of the babies ahead of burial. “Leave her with me,” she said.

Severe malnutrition can be deadly or leave young children with permanent cognitive & physical damage.

For children in Gaza, every minute counts in safely accessing nutrition, water, medical care & protection from bullets & bombs. This requires a humanitarian ceasefire NOW.

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Middle East crisis live: UK-owned cargo ship sinks in Red Sea days after Houthi attack; US aircraft carry out airdrops of aid to Gaza – as it happened

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Officials say a British-registered cargo ship hit in a missile attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels has sunk in the Red Sea. This blog is now closed.

The US will start airdrops of food and emergency supplies into Gaza in the next few days, Joe Biden has announced, amid UN warnings of famine and after Israeli troops opened fire on Gazans seeking food aid.

The use of airdrops is a spectacular but inefficient way of delivering aid, and Friday’s announcement suggests that Biden had given up on being able to persuade Israel in the near future to coordinate a large-scale ground-based relief effort under the threat of mass starvation across Gaza.

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Middle East crisis live: US calls Gaza aid convoy deaths ‘tremendously alarming’ as France says Israeli fire ‘unjustifiable’

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White House says US ‘urgently seeking’ information after more than 100 Palestinians killed when Israeli soldiers open fire near aid trucks

The families of people being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza are on the third day of their march from the site of the Nova music festival, which was attacked on 7 October, to Jerusalem. On this day they are expected to be joined by war cabinet minister Benny Gantz, and the marchers will be carrying. 134 stretchers, intended to symbolise the 134 hostages that Israel believes are still in captivity.

China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning has said the country is “shocked” by the deaths in Gaza yesterday, and called again for an end to the fighting. They said:

China is shocked by this incident and strongly condemns it. We express our grief for the victims and our sympathies for the injured. China urges the relevant parties, especially Israel, to cease fire and end the fighting immediately, earnestly protect civilians’ safety, ensure that humanitarian aid can enter, and avoid an even more serious humanitarian disaster.

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Middle East crisis: Biden says killing of more than 100 Palestinians near aid trucks will complicate ceasefire talks – as it happened

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This live blog is now closed. For the latest on the Israel-Gaza war, read our most recent report:

CNN are reporting that concern is rising among Biden officials that Israel may launch an incursion into Lebanon.

In a politics piece published on its website on Thursday, CNN cite US administration and intelligence officials as being “concerned that Israel is planning a ground incursion into Lebanon that could be launched in the late spring or early summer if diplomatic efforts fail to push Hezbollah back from the northern border with Israel”.

While a final Israeli decision has yet to be made, the worry is acute enough inside the Biden administration that the prospect of an incursion has made its way into intelligence briefings for senior administration officials, according to one person who received a briefing and was told an operation could happen early summer.

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Houthis deny targeting underwater cables amid marine disaster warning

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Yemeni government warns of Red Sea environmental disaster after cargo ship struck by rebels last week

Houthi leaders have denied they have targeted critical underwater sea telecommunication cables, as Yemen’s UN-recognised government warned of an imminent marine environmental disaster if a cargo ship struck by the rebels last week was not quickly rescued.

The Rubymar, a Belize-flagged but British-owned bulk carrier, has been drifting in the Red Sea after it was struck by two missiles. The ship, which is feared to be in danger of sinking, is leaking an 18-mile oil spill and carrying 41,000 tonnes of volatile fertiliser.

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Middle East crisis: Hamas ‘showing flexibility’ in negotiations with Israel but ‘prepared to continue fighting’ – as it happened

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The two sides have been negotiating a deal that would reportedly see a six week pause in fighting and the release of hostages

Al Jazeera reports Gaza’s al-Awda hospital has had to suspend all surgical operations after its operating theatres were destroyed. Acting director Mohamed Salha told the news agency:

This means that all medical services related to obstetrics and gynaecology have stopped completely. We were the only hospital in northern Gaza for orthopaedic surgeries. There is no other alternative place in northern Gaza or Gaza City because the health ministry’s hospitals are out of service completely.

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More than half of UK retailers affected by Houthi disruption, survey shows

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Costs are escalating amid delays, according to British Chambers of Commerce research that shows UK exporters have also been hit

More than half of UK retailers and exporters have been affected by the disruption to Red Sea trade from Houthi rebel attacks on cargo ships, research by a leading business lobby group suggests.

The price of shipping a container from Asia to Europe has gone up by as much as 300% for some businesses, while logistical delays have added up to three to four weeks to delivery times, according to the survey by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).

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US and UK launch missile strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen

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Joint statement says 18 sites across eight locations were targeted, including missile storage facilities

The US and UK carried out strikes against 18 Houthi targets including underground weapons and missile storage facilities in Yemen on Saturday in the latest round of military action against the Iran-linked group that continues to attack shipping in the region.

The strikes were against Houthi targets across eight locations and also included air defence systems, radars, and a helicopter, officials said.

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UK petrol and diesel prices jump following Houthi attacks

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Petrol is up 3.2p a litre and diesel 4p a litre as fuel tankers are forced to avoid the Suez canal

The cost of filling up a family car in the UK increased by about £2 this month as the jump in the oil price caused by the Red Sea attacks is felt at the pumps.

In the three weeks to 18 February petrol increased by 3.2p to 143.4p a litre, while diesel rose by 4p to 152p, according to the RAC, which said this was “worrying” for motorists.

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Houthis claim cargo ship is at risk of sinking after Red Sea attack

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Two projectiles hit Belize-flagged vessel in strike that if confirmed would be a propaganda victory

The Houthis have claimed one of their most significant strikes since they started launching missiles at ships in the Red Sea, after two projectiles hit a Belize-flagged cargo ship.

The Yemeni rebels claimed the ship was at risk of sinking, a significant propaganda victory for the Houthis if confirmed.

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Maritime authorities investigate reported attack on UK-registered cargo ship near Yemen

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UK Maritime Trade Operations says military authorities exploring apparent explosion near vessel

The UK is investigating reports that a cargo ship has come under attack off the coast of Yemen, after an apparent explosion close to the vessel on Sunday.

Following the reports of damage to the vessel, the UK Maritime Trade Operations said: “Military authorities are investigating. UKMTO has received a report of an incident 35 NM [nautical miles] south of Al Mukha, Yemen.

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Houthi attacks in Red Sea having a ‘catastrophic’ effect on aid to Sudan

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Shipments of food and medical supplies from Asia are having to take longer, more expensive routes to avoid seaborne assaults

Attacks by Houthi forces against ships in the Red Sea are holding up shipments of vital aid to Sudan and driving up costs for cash-strapped humanitarian agencies in the east African country, where conflict has put millions at risk of famine.

The attacks mean ships carrying aid from Asia to Port Sudan must now circumnavigate Africa, traverse the Mediterranean and then enter the Red Sea via the Suez Canal from the north, resulting in huge delays and increased costs.

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Houthis strike Iran-bound grain ship in first Red Sea attack in six days

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Militants fired missiles at Greek-owned ship, says US military, in strike that raises questions over who Houthis are trying to target

Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen have carried out their first attack in the Red Sea in six days, firing at an Iran-bound grain cargo ship, the US military has said, in a strike that raises questions about the group’s targeting.

The lull in attacks on ships which the Houthis claim are linked to Israel has led to claims that US and UK strikes against the group have successfully neutralised its capabilities or that potential targets have been deterred from entering the Red Sea.

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Penny Wong warns against ‘miscalculation and accident’ in Indian Ocean after Red Sea shipping disruptions

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Australian foreign minister says diplomacy alone will not prevent potential future conflicts in the region

Penny Wong has told her Indian and Sri Lankan counterparts of the need for transparency and reassurance to guard against “miscalculation and accident” in the Indian Ocean, warning of the potential of “costly consequences” in the wake of trade disruptions in the Red Sea.

Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have continued their drone and missile attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea – a key global trade route. The US and UK militaries have retaliated with airstrikes on key locations within the Arabian Peninsula country, with support from Australia.

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Houthis claim fresh attacks on British and US ships in Red Sea

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Two vessels not badly damaged but incident casts doubt on success of UK-US strikes on Yemen missile sites

Houthi rebels say they have successfully targeted a British and a US ship in the Red Sea, casting doubt on the effectiveness of three waves of US-UK strikes on missile sites belonging to the group in Yemen.

Neither of the two ships were badly damaged but the incident will underscore the need for commercial ships either to pay higher insurance premiums or take longer, more expensive routes to avoid the threat of Houthi attacks. A third ship was targeted on Tuesday afternoon, but not struck, at least reassuring Britain that the Houthi capabilities may have been degraded by the US-UK airstrikes.

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Houthis may sabotage western internet cables in Red Sea, Yemen telecoms firms warn

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UN-recognised government and telecoms firms speak of threat to digital infrastructure, with some submarine cables lying just 100 metres below the surface

Telecom firms linked to the UN-recognised Yemen government said on Sunday they fear Houthi rebels are planning to sabotage a network of submarine cables in the Red Sea critical to the functioning of the western internet, and to the transmission of financial data.

The warning came after a Houthi-linked Telegram channel published a map of the cables running along the bed of the Red Sea. The image was accompanied by a message: “There are maps of international cables connecting all regions of the world through the sea. It seems that Yemen is in a strategic location, as internet lines that connect entire continents – not only countries – pass near it.”

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US says strikes on Iran-linked militias just ‘the beginning’ of its response

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National security adviser refuses to rule out targeting Iran after 85 sites were attacked in Iraq and Syria

US airstrikes on Iranian-backed militias in the Middle East were just the beginning of a sustained response, the White House national security adviser warned on Sunday, as he refused to rule out strikes on Iranian soil.

Jake Sullivan said the strikes on Friday night against 85 targets in Iraq and Syria, designed as retaliation for the killing of three US soldiers, “were the beginning, not the end of our response, and … there will be more steps, some seen, some perhaps unseen, all in an effort to send a very clear message that when American forces are attacked, when Americans are killed, we will respond and we will respond forcefully”.

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US and UK hit 30 Houthi targets to further weaken Iran-backed groups

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Joint operation to further disable militias follows attacks on US and international interests amid war in Gaza

The United States and Britain struck at least 30 Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday in another wave of assaults meant to further disable Iran-backed groups that have attacked US and international interests in response to the Israel-Hamas war.

Ships and fighter jets on Saturday launched strikes against the Houthis. It followed an air assault in Iraq and Syria on Friday targeting other Iran-backed militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in retaliation for the drone strike that killed three US troops – William Jerome Rivers, Kennedy Ladon Sanders and Breonna Alexsondria Moffett – in Jordan last weekend.

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