Two ships caught fire after being hit by projectiles off Yemen's Aden, two UK maritime agencies reported on Sunday. The British security firm Ambrey said that an Antigua and Barbuda-flagged general cargo ship was struck by a missile 83 nautical miles southeast of Aden and caught fire. The fire was later contained. Earlier, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it had received a report from the captain of a vessel of an incident 80 nautical miles southeast of Aden. "The ship was heading southwest along the Gulf of Aden at a speed of 8.2 knots when the forward station was struck by a missile. A fire started but was neutralized," Ambrey said in an advisory note. No injuries were reported. Yemen's Houthis have been attacking ships off Yemen since November last year.
Britain's defense ministry on Sunday refuted a statement by Yemen's Houthi group claiming a ballistic missile attack on a British destroyer in the Red Sea. The Houthis did not say whether the attack they said they had carried out on the HMS Diamond had caused any damage but described it as "accurate". "These claims are untrue," a British Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesperson said. The Houthi group has staged attacks on ships in the waters off the country since November in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. The campaign has disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa, and stoked fears that the Israel-Hamas war could spread and destabilize the wider Middle East.
Badr Hamad Al Busaidi, Foreign Minister on Sun, on Sunday This meeting was held on the sidelines of the joint GCC-Yemen ministerial meeting hosted by the State of Qatar. During the meeting, the two sides underlined the depth of relations between Oman and Yemen and the joint keenness to boost relations in all fields. They also highlighted the continuous talks and cooperation between the two sides in support of the security and stability of Yemen, as well as consolidating its sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence. Moreover, two ministers reiterated the importance of enabling means of achieving peace and harmony among all components of the Yemeni people.
Israeli forces pounded central Gaza anew on Sunday, a day after killing 274 Palestinians during a hostage rescue raid, and tanks advanced further into Rafah in an apparent bid to seal off part of the southern city, residents and Hamas media said. Palestinians remained in shock over Saturday's death toll, the worst over a 24-hour period of the Gaza war for months and including many women and children, Palestinian medics said. Attempts by the United States and regional countries to broker a deal that would release all remaining hostages in return for a ceasefire have repeatedly stumbled on Israeli and Hamas intransigence over terms for an end to the war.
