Yemen's Houthis Present Conditions for Rescue of Damaged Ship in Red Sea
Yemen's Houthi group said it would prevent the rescue of a leaking UK-linked ship in the Red Sea before humanitarian aid can reach Gaza. Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi, a Houthi leader, said that they would only allow the moving of the leaking ship if people in Gaza had access to food, water, and medicine, prompting Yemenis to express concern that the Houthis might be using the ship as a bargaining chip, as they had done with the floating tanker Safer in the past. "The sinking British ship might be hauled in return for delivering aid vehicles to Gaza," Al-Houthi said on X. On Feb. 18, the Houthis fired a missile that largely damaged a UK-owned and Belize-flagged ship, causing an 18-mile oil slick in the Red Sea and threatening a major environmental disaster if its cargo of over 41,000 tons of fertilizer leaked into the sea, according to the US Central Command.
Yemen's Houthis targeted MV Torm Thor, a U.S.-flagged, owned, and operated oil tanker, in the Gulf of Aden, the Iran-aligned group's military spokesman Yahya Sarea said on Sunday. He said the tanker was targeted with "a number of appropriate naval missiles." The Houthis have launched drone and missile attacks at commercial vessels and warships since Nov. 19 as a protest against Israel's military operations in Gaza.
The Ministry of Public Health and Population launched a vaccination campaign today to protect around 1.3 million children aged under 5 years against polio. This campaign is launched with the support of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the World Health Organization (WHO). According to a WHO report, UNICEF and WHO are assisting by providing the vaccine through cold chain storage and funding for training and deployment of vaccinators for the campaign targeting 12 governorates in Yemen. This vaccination campaign is in response to an outbreak of variant poliovirus type 2, which has paralyzed 237 children across Yemen to date. Polio infection can result in permanent, debilitating paralysis. According to WHO, it has no known cure but can easily be prevented through vaccination.
Israel's war cabinet has discussed the next steps for negotiations toward a hostage deal and ceasefire in its war with Hamas as concern deepens over the increasingly desperate situation faced by civilians in the devastated Gaza Strip. Mediators made progress on an agreement for a weekslong ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the release of dozens of hostages held in Gaza as well as Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, Israeli media reported Sunday. Several Israeli media outlets, citing unnamed officials, said it tacitly approved the deal and that Israel would send a delegation to Qatar for further discussions.
