AL-MUKALLA: A ship in the Red Sea was damaged after being hit by missiles suspected to have been launched by Yemen’s Houthi militia on Tuesday, two British maritime agencies said.
A shipmaster reported to the UK Maritime Trade Operations that the ship was damaged after being struck by missiles at 9:30 a.m. (UTC) 31 nautical miles southwest of Yemen’s Hodeidah and that the ship’s crew members were safe.
“At 1040UTC the Master of the MV reports an impact in the water in close proximity to the vessel. The crew are reported safe and the vessel is proceeding to its next port of call,” UKMTO said in its notice about the incident.
Ambrey, another UK marine security agency, said three ballistic missiles hit a ship in the Red Sea, forcing it to tilt to one side roughly 54 nautical miles southwest of Hodeidah Port.
The incident occurred less than a day after the Iran-backed Houthis claimed to have fired a volley of drones and ballistic missiles against warships and commercial ships in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said on Monday night that their military forces carried out two “successful” drone attacks against two US warships in the Red Sea, as well as fired missiles at Largo Desert and MSC Michela in the Indian Ocean, and Minerva Lisa in the Red Sea.
Sarea said that the first ship was targeted because it was American, the second because it was owned by Israel, and the third for violating the ban on ships going to Israel through the Red Sea. He did not provide an exact date for the attacks.
According to www.marinetraffic.com, which monitors ships, Largo Desert is an oil and chemical ship that was flying the Marshall Islands flag and that arrived at the Omani Duqm port on the Arabian Sea four days ago. The Liberian-flagged Minerva Lisa is a crude oil tanker that stopped at the Egyptian Ain Sokhna on the Suez Canal on Tuesday, according to the same source, while the container ship MSC Michela is operating under the Portuguese flag and left Valencia Port in Spain on Saturday for Brazil.
At the same time, the US Central Command said that its forces shot down a drone over the Red Sea launched by the Houthis from regions under their control in Yemen on Monday morning.
The Houthis claimed to have launched hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones at over 100 commercial and navy ships in the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandab Strait, Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean, and, most recently, the Mediterranean since November. They say that they only target Israel-linked ships and those traveling to Israel to push the latter to cease its assault in Gaza, and that they attacked US and UK ships after the two countries began attacks on Yemeni territory under their control.
On Monday, the UK Royal Navy announced that its HMS Duncan destroyer had been sent to the Red Sea to engage in international naval operations to defend ships from Houthi attacks, replacing sister ship HMS Diamond.
“HMS Duncan will be ready to deliver on operations around the clock as we join efforts to protect trade routes from Houthi attacks, continuing the excellent work of HMS Diamond and HMS Richmond in the region.”
UK Navy Commanding Officer Cmdr. Dan Lee said in a statement that the HMS Diamond had destroyed nine drones and one missile that the Houthis in Yemen had launched at ships since the commencement of its Red Sea mission before Christmas.
Meanwhile, the national carrier of Yemen, Yemenia, resumed direct flights between the Houthi-controlled Sanaa airport and Jeddah airport on Tuesday to facilitate the transportation of thousands of Yemeni pilgrims.
Four Yemeni planes carrying 600 pilgrims left Sanaa on Tuesday, the first of 44 identical flights that would transport 8,200 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia. Yemenia has been flying from Sanaa to Amman since April 2022, when the UN-brokered ceasefire was implemented.
Possible Houthi missiles damage ship in Red Sea
https://arab.news/zftq6
Possible Houthi missiles damage ship in Red Sea
- “The crew are reported safe and the vessel is proceeding to its next port of call,” UKMTO said in its notice about the incident
- Ambrey, another UK marine security agency, said three ballistic missiles hit a ship in the Red Sea
17 Palestinian children return to Gaza after medical treatment in Jordan
- The nation’s ‘Medical Corridor’ initiative aims to alleviate humanitarian suffering of Palestinians amid war in Gaza
- 12 other children from Gaza continue to receive medical treatment at Jordanian hospitals
LONDON: Seventeen Palestinian children and their families crossed the King Hussein Bridge on Tuesday on their way back to the Gaza Strip after receiving medical treatment at hospitals in Jordan.
Their care was provided as part of the country’s “Medical Corridor” initiative, which provides urgent medical aid for people from the coastal territory in coordination with the Jordanian Armed Forces, the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization. The children were part of the first group of evacuees brought from Gaza on March 4.
All 17 fully recovered after receiving specialized medical care, the Jordan News Agency reported. Twelve others are still being treated in Jordanian hospitals.
More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed during the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, which began in October 2023. According to a UNICEF report, about 15,000 children have died during the conflict, more than 34,000 have been injured, and nearly 1 million displaced.
The Medical Corridor is one of several Jordanian initiatives that aim to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians amid the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Others include the deployment of field hospitals, humanitarian convoys carrying medical and food aid, a mobile bakery, and the evacuations of children and the wounded.
Netanyahu says there is ‘no way’ Israel halts the war in Gaza until Hamas is defeated
- Netanyahu said Israeli forces were just days away from a promised escalation of force
- “There will be no way we will stop the war,” Netanyahu said
TEL AVIV: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says there is “no way” Israel will halt its war in Gaza, even if a deal is reached to release more hostages.
His comments are likely to complicate talks on a new ceasefire that had seemed to gain momentum after Hamas released the last living American hostage on Monday in a gesture to US President Donald Trump, who is visiting the region but skipping Israel.
They pointed to a potentially widening rift between Netanyahu and Trump, who had expressed hope that Monday’s release of Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander would be a step toward ending the 19-month war.
In comments released by his office Tuesday from a visit to wounded soldiers the previous day, Netanyahu said Israeli forces were just days away from a promised escalation of force and would enter Gaza “with great strength to complete the mission. ... It means destroying Hamas.”
Any ceasefire deal reached would be temporary, the prime minister said. If Hamas were to say they would release more hostages, “we’ll take them, and then we’ll go in. But there will be no way we will stop the war,” Netanyahu said. “We can make a ceasefire for a certain period of time, but we’re going to the end.”
Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in return for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. The dispute over whether to end the conflict has been the main obstacle in negotiations going back more than a year.
Israel says 58 hostages remain in captivity, with as many as 23 of them said to be alive, although authorities have expressed concern about the condition of three of them. Many of the 250 hostages taken by Hamas-led militants in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack that started the war were freed in ceasefire deals.
Trump to ease sanctions on Syria, restore relations with new leader after discussions with Saudi crown prince
- Decision to lift sanctions came following discussions with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
RIYADH: President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will move to normalize relations and lift sanctions on Syria’s new government to give the country “a chance at peace.”
Trump was set to meet Wednesday in Saudi Arabia with Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa.
“There is a new government that will hopefully succeed,” Trump said of Syria, adding, “I say good luck, Syria. Show us something special.”
Speaking at the Saudi-US Investment Forum in Riyadh, he said the effort toward rapprochement came following discussions with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Trump received a standing ovation after his announcement, and added: “Oh, what I do for the crown prince.”
Al-Sharaa was named president of Syria in January, a month after a stunning offensive by insurgent groups led by Al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham or HTS that stormed Damascus ending the 54-year rule of the Assad family.
The US has been weighing how to handle Al-Sharaa since he took power in December. Gulf leaders, have rallied behind the new government in Damascus and will want Trump to follow.
Then-President Joe Biden left the decision to Trump, whose administration has yet to formally recognize the new Syrian government. Sanctions imposed on Damascus under Assad also remain in place.
“The President agreed to say hello to the Syrian President while in Saudi Arabia tomorrow,” the White House said before Trump’s remarks.
* With AP
Hamas rejects Netanyahu’s claim military pressure helped secure hostage release
- “The return of Edan Alexander is the result of serious communications with the US administration,” Hamas said
- “Netanyahu is misleading his people and has failed to bring back his prisoners through aggression”
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Hamas on Tuesday rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim that military pressure had helped secure the release of US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander from Gaza a day earlier.
“The return of Edan Alexander is the result of serious communications with the US administration and the efforts of mediators, not a consequence of Israeli aggression or the illusion of military pressure,” the Palestinian militant group said in a statement.
“Netanyahu is misleading his people and has failed to bring back his prisoners through aggression,” Hamas added.
The armed wing of Hamas on Monday released 21-year-old Alexander, who had been held in Gaza since the group’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war.
Netanyahu had credited Alexander’s release to a combination of “our military pressure and the political pressure exerted by (US) President (Donald) Trump.”
The Israeli prime minister had thanked Trump “for his assistance in the release,” and also said he had instructed a negotiating team to head to Qatar on Tuesday to discuss the release of the remaining captives.
Netanyahu on Tuesday spoke on the phone with Alexander and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who was meeting the former hostage in hospital during a visit to Israel.
“The entire nation of Israel is overjoyed,” Netanyahu said on the call, according to a video released by his office.
“We are grateful for American support and deeply appreciate the (Israeli) soldiers who are prepared to act by any means necessary if the remaining hostages are not released,” he added.
When asked by Netanyahu how he was feeling, Alexander replied: “It’s crazy, unbelievable. I’m okay. Weak, but slowly I’ll get back to how I was before. It’s just a matter of time.”
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog spoke with Alexander’s family, telling them “you are made of steel,” and assured the former captive that “the most important thing is that you are home.”
The release of Alexander — the last living hostage in Gaza with US citizenship — came a day after Hamas revealed it was engaged in direct talks with Washington toward a ceasefire in Gaza.
Trump arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday on the first leg of a Gulf tour that will also take him to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
“The return of Edan Alexander confirms that serious negotiations and a prisoner exchange deal are the way to bring back the prisoners and end the war,” the Hamas statement said on Tuesday.
Of the 251 hostages seized during Hamas’s 2023 attack, 57 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel ended a two-month ceasefire on March 18, ramping up its bombardment of the territory.
Turkiye says it is closely monitoring PKK disbandment to secure peace
- “We are closely following attempts to sabotage the process and we will not allow anyone to test our state’s determination in this regard,” Altun said
- Officials have not disclose details about the process that will follow the PKK’s decision
ANKARA: Türkiye is closely monitoring any attempts to undermine its peace initiative with the PKK, a senior official said Tuesday, following the militant Kurdish group’s announcement that it is dissolving and ending its decades-long armed conflict with the Turkish state.
The PKK, designated as a terrorist organization by several, announced the historic decision on Monday months after its imprisoned leader called for the group to formally disband and disarm — a move that could bring an end to one of the Middle East’s longest-running insurgencies.
In making the call, the PKK leader stressed the need for securing Kurdish rights through negotiation rather than armed struggle.
Previous peace efforts with the group have failed, most recently in 2015. Given the past failures, a close aide to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed determination to uphold the current initiative and prevent any disruptions.
“We are closely following attempts to sabotage the process and we will not allow anyone to test our state’s determination in this regard,” Fahrettin Altun, the head of the Turkish presidential communications office said.
The PKK initially launched its struggle with the goal of establishing an independent Kurdish state. Over time, it moderated its objectives toward autonomy and greater Kurdish rights within Türkiye. The conflict, which has spilled into neighboring Iraq and Syria, has claimed tens of thousands of lives since it began in the 1980s.
The latest peace effort, which the government has labeled “Terror-Free Turkiye” was launched in October, after a key ally of President Recep Tayyip suggested parole for PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan if the PKK renounces violence and disbands.
Officials have not disclose details about the process that will follow the PKK’s decision.
Media close to the government have reported that the PKK’s disarmament process is expected to take three to four months, with weapons being collected at designated locations in northern Iraq under official supervision.
According to Hurriyet newspaper, the disarmament could be overseen jointly by Türkiye and the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq or through a commission involving Türkiye, the United States, European Union nations and Iraq.
The newspaper also suggested that high-ranking PKK members may be relocated to third countries, while lower-ranking militants without arrest warrants could return to Türkiye once a legal framework is established to facilitate their reintegration.
Turkish officials have not responded to requests for comment on the report.
Analysts expect Ocalan to see improved prison conditions following the PKK’s disbandment.
Erdogan said Monday the PKK’s declaration should apply to all PKK-affiliated groups, including Kurdish groups in Syria.
The Kurdish fighters in Syria have ties to the PKK and have been involved in intense fighting with Turkish-backed forces there. The leader of the US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces previously said Ocalan’s call for a dissolution does not apply to his group in Syria.
The group then reached an agreement with the central government in Damascus for a nationwide ceasefire and its merger into the Syrian army. Despite the deal, Kurdish officials in Syria later declared their desire for a federal state, sparking tensions with the Syrian government.
Some believe the main aim of the reconciliation effort is for Erdogan’s government to garner Kurdish support for a new constitution that would allow him to remain in power beyond 2028, when his term ends.
Turkiye is closely monitoring any attempts to undermine its peace initiative with the PKK, a senior official said Tuesday. (AP/File)
