Thirty-eight Yemeni fishermen returned home on Wednesday after several weeks of detention in Eritrea. Yemeni authorities the 38 men returned after spending more than two months in an Eritrean prison. A group of 54 Yemeni fishermen imprisoned in Eritrea for a year arrived in the Houthi-controlled city of Al-Hudaydah on Sunday, days after another group of 29 fishermen returned from imprisonment in the Horn of Africa. In total, 118 fishermen have been released by Eritrea during this month. Yemeni fishermen associations said that the Yemeni ambassador to Eritrea and local merchants engaged in negotiations with Eritrea that resulted in the release of all detained fishermen.
The Israeli army said Wednesday a fighter jet has successfully shot down a cruise missile over the Red Sea, close to the resort town of Eilat. Earlier yesterday, sirens went off in Eilat, on the Red Sea coast, after a suspected drone infiltration. "An F-35 stealth plane was sent out to intercept the missile," the army said on X, noting that the missile did not enter Israel's territory. The Israeli army did not specify the location from which the missile had been launched, but the Yemeni Houthis have in recent weeks claimed responsibility for launching ballistic missiles and drones towards Eilat in response to the Israeli massacres in the Gaza Strip. More than 14,500 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7.
The Pentagon announced that a U.S. destroyer intercepted multiple explosive-laden drones on Thursday morning while sailing in the Red Sea. The drones were launched from areas controlled by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) stated on the Ex platform that the drones were successfully brought down while the U.S. warship USS Thomas Hudner was on patrol in the Red Sea. The statement said that the ship and its crew suffered no damage or injuries. Yesterday evening, the Houthi group announced the launch of a batch of ballistic missiles targeting Israeli objectives, coinciding with the ongoing Zionist aggression on the Gaza Strip, which has lasted for 47 consecutive days.
Military sources in the Yemeni government said Wednesday the government forces clashed with the Houthi fighters on the Sirwah frontline in Marib province. The Houthis attempted to advance towards the positions of government soldiers, leading to the breakout of armed confrontations. According to military sources, several Houthi fighters were killed during the clash, and the rest were forced to retreat. Houthis had taken several districts in Marib and kept trying to advance towards Marib city.
A pause in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza will start on Friday morning, with the first hostages to be released hours later, mediator Qatar said, after nearly seven weeks of fighting. Qatar, which facilitated the truce deal along with Egypt and the United States, said the pause would begin Friday at 7:00 am (0500 GMT), with the "first batch" of 13 civilian hostages being handed over about nine hours later. Hamas confirmed the ceasefire would start at 7:00 am. Hamas and other Palestinian gunmen seized about 240 hostages during unprecedented raids into Israel on October 7, which Israel says killed around 1,200 people.
