U.S. Official: Iran Was Behind Yemen's Houthi Seizure of Israeli-Linked Ship in the Red Sea
Yemen’s Houthi, who seized an Israeli-linked cargo ship in the Red Sea, were backed, supported and potentially trained by Iranian authorities, a U.S. official said. New photos of the helicopter-borne Houthi attack on the Galaxy Leader show "all the signs" that Iran was behind the operation, an American defense official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. He added, "This has all the signs these people were trained by a professional military, which could clearly be Iran," the defense official said. The Houthi group declared on Sunday that they seized the ship as it was sailing from Turkey to India. Iran has denied involvement with the attacks. It also previously denied being involved in Hamas’ surprise attack on Israeli settlements on October 7.
UN Mission to Support the Al-Hudaydah Agreement (UNMHA) announced on Tuesday the death and injury of eight civilians during October due to landmines and explosive incidents resulting from the remnants of war in Al-Hudaydah province. According to the monthly report, the UN Mission documented six incidents of landmines and explosive remnants in the province in October, resulting in 7 killed and one injured. The landmine explosions happened in Al-Tuhayta, Al-Durayhimi, and Al-Hali district. The warring sides have planted thousands of landmines since the breakout of the war in 2015.
The World Health Organization stated that two million Yemeni children are suffering from malnutrition. In a post on platform X, the organization said, "Two million children under the age of five in Yemen are suffering from malnutrition, with 540,000 of them in need of urgent and specialized care." It added, "On World Children's Day, let's remember that every child deserves health and hope for a promising future in Yemen. Let's work to ensure that every child gets health, education, and protection.” The civil war in Yemen deepened poverty and paralyzed the health system in the country. Children have been among the most vulnerable groups over the past years of war.
Negotiations to free hostages seized in Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel are at their “closest point” to a deal and have reached the “final stage,” a Qatari official said Tuesday. “We are at the closest point we ever had been in reaching an agreement,” foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said. He indicated that negotiations have reached a “critical and final stage.” Qatar has helped broker talks aiming to free some of the 240 hostages in return for a temporary cease-fire. Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas in response to the October 7 attacks, which Israeli officials say killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians.
Eight people were killed on Tuesday in southern Lebanon due to Israeli artillery shelling and drone attacks. A journalist and photojournalist were among the victims. Farah Omar, a correspondent for Al-Mayadeen TV, and photojournalist Rabie Al-Maamari, were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Tayr Harfa triangle. Civilian Hussein Aqeel, who happened to be with them, were also killed. The deepening violence on the southern Lebanese border increases the potential for clashes there to escalate into a full-blown conflict with uncertain outcomes.
