Israel’s military says it carried out new airstrikes in Yemen against what it said were Houthi rebel targets. Its statement Friday said fighter jets struck “on the western coast and inland Yemen,” a day after the Houthis launched three drones at Israel. The U.S. military bombed Yemen earlier this week.
Houthi-controlled media reported one worker dead and six people wounded at the Ras Isa port. The Houthis said the strikes occurred while Yemenis were rallying in the capital Sanaa in support of the Palestinians in Gaza.
In recent weeks, Israel and Hamas have appeared to inch closer to an agreement for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said Thursday that 46,006 Palestinians have been killed and 109,378 wounded in the Israel-Hamas war, with no end in sight. The ministry says women and children were more than half the fatalities but does not say how many of the dead were fighters or civilians.
The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. It blames Hamas for civilian deaths because it says militants operate in residential areas. Israel’s air and ground operations have driven hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into sprawling tent camps along the coast with limited access to food and other essentials.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and abducting around 250. A third of the 100 hostages still held in Gaza are believed to be dead.
Here’s the latest:
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Friday with security officials to discuss Gaza ceasefire talks, an Israeli official told media.
The prime minister and security officials received an update from negotiators and instructed them to continue the talks in Qatar, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were discussing a confidential diplomatic matter.
Qatar, Egypt and the United States have been mediating the indirect talks that have stalled repeatedly during 15 months of war. Just one brief ceasefire has been achieved, occurring in the earliest weeks of the fighting.
The recovery of the bodies of two hostages in Gaza this week again put pressure on Netanyahu from families and others to reach a deal to bring the remaining hostages home.
By Tia Goldenberg
BEIRUT — An Israeli strike in southern Lebanon on Friday killed at least two people and wounded two others, the country’s Health Ministry said.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the attack in Tyre province, and it’s unclear what was targeted. Lebanon’s state media reported the strike hit a car in the town of Tayr Debba.
Amid a tenuous ceasefire, Israel insists it has the right to attack Hezbollah anywhere in response to alleged truce violations. Both sides have until Jan. 26 to pull their forces out of southern Lebanon.
Lebanese state media reported Israel carried out new home demolitions and explosions in several southern villages on Friday. This adds to the near-daily Israeli operations in Lebanon since the ceasefire took effect in late November — gunfire, demolishing buildings, tank shelling and airstrikes — that according the Health Ministry have killed at least 29 people and wounded more than 32.
JERUSALEM — Israel’s military says it has carried out new airstrikes against what it calls Houthi rebel targets inside Yemen.
The Israeli military statement Friday said fighter jets struck “on the western coast and inland Yemen,” and targets included what it called military infrastructure sites in the Hizaz power station as well as military infrastructure in the Hodeida and Ras Isa ports on the west coast. An Israeli military official said 20 aircraft took part in the operation, firing around 50 munitions.
Houthi-controlled media reported one worker dead and six other people wounded at the Ras Isa port.
Clouds of black smoke could be seen above the rebel-held capital, Sanaa. The Houthis said the strikes occurred while people were rallying in Sanaa in support of Palestinians in Gaza.