U.S. Airstrikes Target Sites in Yemen's Al-Hudaydah

The United States renewed on Tuesday targeting sites in Yemen amid escalating tensions in the region due to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. The Houthi-run Saba news agency said today the airstrikes targeted locations in Al-Hudaydah. It added, "The American-British aggression targeted the Al-Tuhayta district." The source did not provide further details. Since last month, the U.S. and U.K. forces have multiple airstrikes on Houthi-controlled provinces in North Yemen. The strikes aim to stop Houthi attacks on shipping lanes in the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and Gulf of Aden. Houthis say their assaults are in support of Palestinians in Gaza, which Israel has been bombing since October last year.

Yemen's Houthis fired two missiles at a ship in the Bab Al-Mandeb strait, the U.S. military said on Tuesday. The MV Star Iris, a Greek-owned, Marshall Islands-flagged cargo vessel transiting the Red Sea carrying corn from Brazil, suffered minor damage, but the crew were not hurt, according to U.S. Central Command. Yesterday, the Houthis claimed that they attacked an American ship in the Red Sea, vowing to continue their operations until the Israeli war on Gaza stops. The group has attacked several vessels in the vital waterway since November of last year.

The World Health Organization said on Monday that more than 8,000 cases of cholera were recorded in Yemen, and 21 deaths related to the disease during 2023. The organization said - in a recent report - that it had received reports of 8,426 suspected cases of cholera/acute watery diarrhea (AWD) in Yemen and 21 deaths related to the disease between January 1 and December 15, 2023. The report stated that Yemen is one of 8 countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region of the World Health Organization (EMRO) that is still witnessing an outbreak of this disease in 2023. According to the report, the most critical factors that play a major role in the resurgence of cholera in the region are climate change, continuing conflicts, political instability, weak health systems, increased population movement, weak water, and sanitation infrastructure, and a low level of awareness among the public.

Officials from the United States, Egypt, Israel and Qatar were meeting in Cairo on Tuesday to try to agree a truce in Gaza as international calls grew for Israel to hold back on its planned assault on the Palestinian enclave's southern city of Rafah. More than one million displaced civilians are crammed into Rafah, many living in camps and makeshift shelters after fleeing from Israeli bombardments in other areas of Gaza during more than four months of war. The overall Palestinian death toll from the war in Gaza has surpassed 28,000 people, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. A quarter of Gaza's residents are starving.