US and British warplanes launched fresh airstrikes in Yemen's coastal province of Al-Hudaydah on Monday, the Houthi group said. The Houthi-run Al-Masirah television said three strikes targeted the Al-Arj area, northwest of Al-Hudaydah. Three airstrikes were also reported in Ras Isa district in the province. The Houthi group has been targeting cargo ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden owned or operated by Israeli companies or transporting goods to and from Israel in solidarity with the Gaza Strip, where Israel has killed over 30000 people. With tensions escalating due to joint strikes by the US and UK against Houthi sites in Yemen, the group declared that it considered all American and British ships legitimate military targets.
An explosion that took place near a ship in the Red Sea on Monday is suspected to have been an attack by Yemen's Houthis, though the blast caused no damage, authorities said. The master of the vessel reported the explosion and said no one was hurt, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. The private security firm Ambrey said the incident may have involved a missile, but information remained scarce. The Houthis did not immediately claim the attack, though it typically takes the Houthis several hours to acknowledge their strikes. A Houthi missile attack last week killed three sailors, forcing survivors to abandon the vessel.
Hospitals and health facilities have become inoperative amid the ongoing internal conflict in Yemen, leading to the loss of lives of pregnant women and babies, according to a UN official."In Yemen, less than 50% of hospitals and health facilities are operational, and only one-fifth of these health facilities provide maternal and neonatal care services," Hicham Nahro, deputy representative of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) in Yemen, told Anadolu. "Pregnant women cannot access urban maternity hospitals or health centers due to disadvantages such as frequent displacement and living in rural and remote areas," Nahro said. "Many Yemeni families cannot afford hospital costs, even transportation expenses to reach urban centers," he said. "There are 5.5 million women in the country who do not have access to or have very limited access to reproductive health services, including 2.7 million pregnant and lactating women suffering from acute malnutrition," he said.
Russia said a group of its warships had arrived in Iran to take part in drills with Iran and China in the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. The joint exercises, called "Maritime Security Belt - 2024", will involve warships and aviation, the Russian defence ministry said in a statement quoted by state media on Monday. "The practical part of the exercise will take place in the waters of the Gulf of Oman of the Arabian Sea," the ministry said. "The main purpose of the maneuvers is to work out the safety of maritime economic activity."
