A ship near the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait observed an explosion in the distance Wednesday, marking what may be a new attack by Yemen's Ansar Allah (Houthi) group. The explosion, reported by the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center, comes after a relative lull from the Houthis, following months of attacks on shipping in the region over Israel's ongoing war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The explosion happened some 130 kilometers (81 miles) southeast of Djibouti in the Gulf of Aden. "The master of a merchant vessel reports an explosion in the water a distance from the vessel," the UKMTO said. "Vessel and crew reported safe. Authorities are investigating." The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for Wednesday's blast. It typically takes the Houthis several hours before acknowledging their operations. They say their attacks are in support of Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel has killed over 33000 people.
Mediators conveyed messages from the United States to Yemen's Houthis, offering "incentives" including lifting the blockade of Sanaa and Al-Hudaydah and accelerating peace talks in return for the group halting its attacks in the Red Sea, Yemeni political sources said. "In response to the Yemeni group's attempts to target Israeli ships, the US has not only resorted to military action but also sought to convey proposals that would incentivize the militants to stop their attacks," a Yemeni political source said. The source added, "Messages containing incentives were recently sent from the Americans to Sanaa. These messages were delivered through envoys and mediators, including Western officials, with the Omani capital, Muscat, also playing a significant role."
Fifty-seven-year-old Prema Kumari met her daughter Nimisha Priya, who is on death row at the Central prison in Yemen's capital Sana'a on Wednesday, April 24. They were allowed to stay together for some time. Thirty-four-year-old Nimisha, a nurse, remains imprisoned for the murder of a Yemeni national in July 2017.
Israel's military is poised to evacuate Palestinian civilians from Rafah and assault Hamas hold-outs in the southern Gaza Strip city, a senior Israeli defence official said on Wednesday, despite international warnings of a humanitarian catastrophe. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government spokesperson said Israel was "moving ahead" with a ground operation but gave no timeline. The defence official said Israel's Defence Ministry had bought 40,000 tents, each with the capacity for 10 to 12 people, to house Palestinians relocated from Rafah in advance of an assault
