A British maritime authority said that a vessel sailing off the coast of Yemen reported two explosions in the Red Sea on Tuesday shortly after two unmanned aircraft were sighted. The explosions occurred around 5 miles from the vessel in an area of the Red Sea 50 miles from the port of Hodeidah on Yemen's west coast, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said in an advisory. The identity of the vessel and details of the cargo onboard were not disclosed. The UKMTO said the vessel was in contact with coalition forces, and the vessel and crew had been reported safe. The reported incident comes a week after the United States announced a multinational maritime security initiative in the Red Sea in response to attacks on vessels by Yemen's Houthis. The Houthi group says its attacks on ships are a form of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza bombed and besieged by Israel.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced the registration of 6242 cases of cholera in Yemen during the first ten months of this year. The organization stated in its report that it documented a total of 6,242 suspected cases of Acute Diarrhea in Yemen. The disease caused eight deaths between January 1 and October 31, 2023.The report confirmed that Yemen is one of 9 countries in the Eastern Mediterranean (EMR) that reported suspected cholera cases in 2022. Other countries in the region include Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, and Syria. Yemen is also one of 8 countries still experiencing a cholera outbreak in 2023.
The Houthi group warned on Monday that millions of residents in North Yemen are at risk of hunger and death due to the continued suspension of international aid since the beginning of this month. The Sanaa-based Ministry of Human Rights said in a statement that the World Food Programme's decision to suspend aid was regrettable. The statement added, "The major obstacles facing the international aid mechanism … are the American dominance over UN decisions, the donors imposing their conditions on this aid, and the practiceof political extortion at the expense of urgent humanitarian aspects." The statement warned of "the consequences of continuing to politicize the humanitarian aid" as this will leave millions of Yemenis at risk of "famine and death."
On Monday, Israel said it was "intensifying the fighting" against Hamas in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Monday after visiting Gaza, "We're not stopping," according to a statement from his Likud party. 20,915 people have been killed and 54,918 injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since Oct. 7, the Gaza health ministry said on Tuesday. The ministry added that 241 Palestinians were killed in the past 24 hours and 382 were injured.
