AL-MUKALLA: Hundreds of Yemeni pilgrims trapped in Saudi Arabia will return to Houthi-held areas of Yemen by land, as the militia refuses to release Yemenia Airways aircraft that would transport them home, Yemen’s government said on Tuesday.
Yemen’s Ministry of Endowments and Guidance said that Yemeni pilgrims stranded at Jeddah airport were sent back to their hotels in Makkah and will be transported home by road to their districts under Houthi control.
Other pilgrims will be flown on Yemenia Airways flights from Jeddah to government-controlled Aden, then transported by bus to Sanaa and other Houthi-held Yemeni provinces, according to Yemen’s official news agency SABA.
Last week, Yemen’s Houthis seized three Yemenia flights at Sanaa airport and blocked them from going to Jeddah to bring back Yemeni pilgrims, stranding at least 1,000 people in Saudi Arabia.
The Yemeni government branded the Houthis’ capture of jets as “piracy” and urged the international community to put pressure on the Houthis to free the three planes and another plane that had been taken earlier.
The Houthi Supreme Political Council on Monday resisted requests to allow flights to carry pilgrims by applauding its authorities for taking the planes, claiming that the measure was intended to “preserve the company, its assets, and its capabilities.”
The Houthis claim they would administer the firm from Sanaa, repair the aircraft, and reschedule flights from Sanaa and other Yemeni airports, accusing the Yemeni government of mismanaging it.
This comes as the Houthis have increased their assaults on government troops in Marib, Taiz and Hodeidah over the past 48 hours, despite the militia’s negotiators meeting the Yemeni government in Muscat for UN-brokered prisoner exchange negotiations.
On Monday, the government’s Giants Brigades repelled a Houthi incursion in the Al-Abedia region of the central province of Marib, killing and injuring many assailants, according to a military source who spoke to SABA agency.
In their assault on government soldiers, the Houthis deployed canons, drones and medium weaponry in an effort to capture control of fresh regions in Marib province.
The Houthi attack in Marib occurred one day after the Houthis attacked the Giants Brigades forces in the western province of Hodeidah, killing two soldiers and injuring seven.
Yemen’s army said on Monday that its soldiers stopped a Houthi incursion attempt north of Taiz, forcing the Houthis to leave after brief fighting.
Despite a considerable decline in hostilities since the UN-brokered ceasefire came into effect in April 2022, the Houthis have continued to wage fatal attacks on government soldiers in Marib, Taiz, Dhale, Hodeidah and other disputed regions.
In a separate development, the militia said on Monday that its troops had carried out four operations against four “American, British and Israeli” ships in international waters off Yemen and the Mediterranean.
The first operation saw the militia’s missile troops firing cruise missiles against the “Israeli” MSC Unific ship in the Red Sea, according to Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea.
He said that their troops targeted the “US” oil ship Delonix in the Red Sea for the second time, employing ballistic and cruise missiles.
In the third operation, a “British landing ship” called Anvil Point was targeted in the Indian Ocean with cruise missiles, while a fourth missile targeted a ship called Lucky Sailor in the Mediterranean, which was attacked because the ship’s parent company violated the militia’s ban on sailing into Israeli ports.
The US Central Command said on Tuesday that its forces had destroyed one Houthi radar site in a Yemeni location controlled by the Houthis, marking the latest wave of attacks by US and UK aircraft against Houthi military targets in Yemen.
Since November, the Houthis have launched missiles, drones and explosive-laden ships into the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandab Strait, the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, and have recently announced plans to expand their attacks into the Mediterranean in what the Yemeni militia refers to as a campaign against Israeli ships to force Israel to end its military operations in the Palestinian Gaza Strip.
Stranded Yemeni pilgrims in Saudi Arabia will return home by land
https://arab.news/55ewr
Stranded Yemeni pilgrims in Saudi Arabia will return home by land
- Yemen’s Ministry of Endowments and Guidance said that Yemeni pilgrims stranded at Jeddah airport were sent back to their hotels in Makkah
- Other pilgrims will be flown on Yemenia Airways flights from Jeddah to government-controlled Aden
ICC prosecutor opted for warrants over visit to Gaza
- ICC mission planned for Gaza, Ramallah, Jerusalem was called off
- Sudden cancelation angered Washington, London
- In call, UK’s Cameron threatened to pull UK out of ICC and cut funds
THE HAGUE/WASHINGTON: On May 20, the same day International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan made a surprise request for warrants to arrest the leaders of Israel and Hamas involved in the Gaza conflict, he suddenly canceled a sensitive mission to collect evidence in the region, eight people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Planning for the visit had been under way for months with US officials, four of the sources said.
Khan’s decision to request the warrants upended the plans backed by Washington and London for the prosecutor and his team to visit Gaza and Israel. The court was set to gather on-site evidence of war crimes and offer Israeli leaders a first opportunity to present their position and any action they were taking to respond to the allegations of war crimes, five sources with direct knowledge of the exchanges told Reuters.
Khan’s request for a warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — the court’s first attempt to detain a sitting, Western-backed head of state — also flew in the face of efforts the US and Britain were leading to prevent the court from prosecuting Israeli leaders, the sources said.
The two states have said the court has no jurisdiction over Israel and that seeking warrants would not help resolve the conflict.
Khan’s office told Reuters the decision to seek warrants was, in line with its approach in all cases, based on an assessment by the prosecutor that there was enough evidence to proceed, and the view that seeking arrest warrants immediately could prevent ongoing crimes.
Reuters is the first to report in detail about the planned trip and the repercussions of its cancelation.
Khan had for three years been working to improve relations with the US, which is not a member of the court. He had asked Washington to help put pressure on its ally Israel – also not a court member – to allow his team access, four sources said.
His move has harmed operational cooperation with the US and angered Britain, a founding member of the court, the sources said.
A senior US State Department official said Washington continued to work with the court on its investigations in Ukraine and Sudan, but three sources with direct knowledge of the US administration’s dealings with the court told Reuters cooperation has been damaged by Khan’s sudden action.
They said problems have played out in preparations for new indictments of suspects in Sudan’s Darfur and the apprehension of fugitives. Two of the sources said one operation to detain a suspect, which they declined to describe in detail, did not go ahead as planned due to the loss of key US support. All the sources expressed concerns Khan’s action would jeopardize cooperation in other ongoing investigations.
However, Khan’s sudden move has drawn support from other countries, exposing political differences between national powers over the conflict and the court. France, Belgium, Spain and Switzerland have made statements endorsing Khan’s decision; Canada and Germany have stated more simply that they respect the court’s independence.
The world’s war crimes court for prosecuting individuals, the ICC does not have a police force to detain suspects, so it relies on 124 countries that ratified the 1998 Rome treaty that founded it. Non-members China, Russia, the US and Israel sometimes work with the court on an ad hoc basis.
A few hours’ notice
Khan personally decided to cancel the visit to the Gaza Strip, Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Ramallah, which was due to begin on May 27, two of the sources said.
Court and Israeli officials were due to meet on May 20 in Jerusalem to work out final details of the mission. Khan instead requested warrants that day for Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and three Hamas leaders — Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh.
A UN official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that initial discussions had taken place regarding a visit to Gaza by Khan, covering security and transportation.
Flight tickets and meetings between senior-level court and Israeli officials were canceled with just hours of notice, blindsiding some of Khan’s own staff, seven sources with direct and indirect knowledge of the decision said.
The US State Dept. official said that abandoning the May visit broke from the prosecution’s common practice of seeking engagement with states under investigation. Three US sources said, without providing details, that Khan’s motive to change course was not clearly explained and the about-face had hurt the court’s credibility in Washington.
Khan’s office did not directly address those points but said he had spent the three previous years trying to improve dialogue with Israel and had not received any information that demonstrated “genuine action” at a domestic level from Israel to address the crimes alleged.
Khan “continues to welcome the opportunity to visit Gaza” and “remains open to engaging with all relevant actors,” his office said in an email.
Senior Hamas official Basem Naim told Reuters Hamas had no prior knowledge of Khan’s intentions to send a team of investigators into Gaza.
Netanyahu’s office and the Israeli Foreign Ministry declined to comment.
The war in Gaza erupted after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostage. Nearly 38,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s ground and air campaign, Gaza’s health ministry says.
Washington blindsided
The ICC admitted “the State of Palestine” in 2015, and Khan says his office has jurisdiction over alleged atrocity crimes committed since Oct. 7 by Palestinians in Israel and by anyone in the Gaza Strip. Neither the US or Britain recognize the Palestinian state, so they dispute the court’s jurisdiction over the territory.
Even though Washington and London argue that the court has no jurisdiction in this situation, they were talking to Israel to help prosecutor Khan arrange the visit, four sources close to their administrations told Reuters.
The sources said they had been aware that Khan might seek warrants for Netanyahu and other high-level Israeli officials: Since at least March, Khan or members of his team had been informing the governments of the US, UK, Russia, France and China about the possibility of bringing charges against Israeli and Hamas leaders.
A diplomatic source in a Western country said, without giving details, there was a diplomatic effort under the radar to try to convince the ICC not to take this path.
“We worked hard to build a relationship of no surprises,” said one US source, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the case.
Blinken on May 21 called Khan’s decision “profoundly wrong-headed,” saying it was out of line with the process he expected and would complicate prospects for a deal on freeing hostages or a ceasefire. He told a Senate appropriations committee he would work with Republicans to impose sanctions against ICC officials.
On the same day, Cameron told parliament Kahn’s move was mistaken.
In private, he responded furiously to the change of plan, calling it “crazy” because Khan’s team had not yet visited Israel and Gaza, and threatening in a phone call with Khan to pull Britain out of the court and cut financial support to it, three sources with direct knowledge of the discussion said. A foreign office official declined to comment on the phone call or on Britain’s relationship to the court.
In June, the ICC allowed the UK to file a written submission outlining its legal arguments that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over the case. The issue of the court’s jurisdiction divides both members and non-members of the court.
The US has a fraught relationship with the court. In 2020, under the former US President Donald Trump, Washington imposed sanctions against it, which were dropped under President Joe Biden.
Khan’s office said he “has made significant efforts to engage with the United States in recent years in order to strengthen cooperation, and has been grateful for the concrete and important assistance provided by US authorities.”
Fuel shortages ‘catastrophic’ for devastated health services in Gaza: WHO
- Desperate fuel shortages have been a constant problem in the besieged Palestinian territory
- Gaza is completely sealed off and everything that enters it is controlled by the Israelis
Geneva: The World Health Organization chief has warned that a dire lack of fuel in the Gaza Strip could have a “catastrophic” impact on already devastated health services in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.
Desperate fuel shortages have been a constant problem in the besieged Palestinian territory, facing intense Israeli bombardment since Hamas’s deadly October 7 attack inside Israel sparked the ongoing war.
“Further disruption to health services is imminent in Gaza due to a severe lack of fuel,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said late Thursday on X, formerly Twitter.
The UN health agency cautioned that only 90,000 liters of fuel entered Gaza on Wednesday — even as the health sector alone needs 80,000 liters daily.
This is forcing WHO and its partners working in Gaza “to make impossible choices,” Tedros said.
Gaza is completely sealed off and everything that enters it is controlled by the Israelis.
Fuel, which has been particularly difficult to get in amid Israeli fears it could benefit Hamas fighters, is vital to keep hospital generators running, as well as humanitarian and emergency vehicles.
WHO said that its partners were currently directing limited fuel supplies to “key hospitals,” including the Nasser Medical Complex and Al Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis and the Kuwaiti hospital in Rafah.
Fuel was also going to 21 ambulances run by the Palestinian Red Crescent “to prevent services from grinding to a halt,” Tedros said.
He pointed out that the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Yunis had been out of service since Tuesday, and warned that “losing more hospitals in the Strip would be catastrophic.”
Hamas’s October 7 attack that sparked Gaza’s deadliest war resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
Hamas militants also seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza including 42 the army says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 38,011 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
Israel conducts military operation in the area of the West Bank city of Jenin; 4 Palestinians killed
Israel conducts military operation in the area of the West Bank city of Jenin; 4 Palestinians killed
- Violence has spiraled in the West Bank since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza, sparked by the Oct. 7 raid
JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said Friday it was conducting counterterrorism activity that included an airstrike in the area of the West Bank city of Jenin. Palestinian authorities said four people were killed.
The military said Israeli soldiers had “encircled a building where terrorists have barricaded themselves in” and the soldiers were exchanging fire, while an airstrike had “struck several armed terrorists” in the area.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said four people died but did not provide any information on their identities. No further details were immediately available from either side.
The clashes in Jenin, a known militant stronghold where the army frequently operates, came a day after an Israeli anti-settlement monitoring group said the government plans to build nearly 5,300 new homes in settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The construction plans revealed by the Peace Now group are part of the hard-line government’s efforts to beef up settlements as part of a strategy of cementing Israel’s control over the West Bank to prevent a future Palestinian state. The Palestinians seek the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza — areas captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war — for an independent state.
Violence has spiraled in the West Bank since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza, sparked by the Oct. 7 raid into southern Israel by Hamas militants who killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took more than 200 others as hostages. The war has so far killed more than 38,000 Palestinians, Gaza’s Health Ministry says. The ministry does not differentiate between combatants and civilians in its count, but it includes thousands of women and children.
Ceasefire talks appeared to be reviving after stalling for weeks. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Thursday he was sending negotiators to resume the talks, a day after Hamas handed mediators its latest response to a US-backed proposal for a deal.
The revival of negotiations appeared to mark another attempt by US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators to overcome the gap that has repeatedly thwarted a deal over the past months. Hamas wants an agreement that ensures Israeli troops fully leave Gaza and the war ends, while Netanyahu says the war cannot end before Hamas is eliminated.
Israeli negotiators are expected to arrive in Doha, Qatar’s capital, for the talks as early as Friday, with American, Egyptian and Qatari officials present.
Hezbollah, Hamas discuss latest developments in Gaza ceasefire talks, Hezbollah says
- Nasrallah received Hamas deputy chief Hayya for the meeting, which reviewed “the latest security and political developments” in the Gaza Strip
- Israeli team expected in Qatar for talks on Gaza deal
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and top Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya discussed the latest developments in the Gaza Strip and negotiations aimed at reaching a ceasefire there during a meeting, Hezbollah said on Friday.
Nasrallah received Hamas deputy chief Hayya for the meeting, which reviewed “the latest security and political developments” in the Gaza Strip, the Iran-backed Hezbollah said in a statement.
“They also discussed the latest developments in the ongoing negotiations these days, their atmosphere, and the proposals presented to reach an end to the treacherous aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip,” the statement said.
Israel’s spy chief was also expected in Qatar on Friday for the latest effort to free hostages held by Hamas Palestinian militants in Gaza, almost nine months into the Israel-Hamas war.
A source with knowledge of the talks said the Israeli delegation led by David Barnea, head of the Mossad intelligence service, was heading to the Gulf emirate for the discussions “aiming to bring the parties closer to a deal in Gaza.”
The Gaza war — which has raised fears of a broader conflagration involving Lebanon — began with Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
The militants also seized hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza including 42 the military says are dead.
In response, Israel has carried out a military offensive that has killed at least 38,011 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory.
The source, speaking on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter, said Barnea would meet Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, a mediator.
The United States, which along with Egypt has also tried for months to help broker a deal, said it welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to send a delegation.
Ceasefire proposal
US President Joe Biden announced a pathway to a truce deal in May, saying it had been proposed by Israel.
The UN Security Council in June adopted a US-drafted resolution welcoming the plan laid out by Biden, which included an initial six-week truce, Israeli withdrawal from Gaza population centers and the freeing of hostages by Hamas.
Talks subsequently stalled but a senior US official on Thursday said the Islamist movement’s latest response “moves the process forward and may provide the basis for closing the deal,” though “significant work” remained.
The United States believed Israel and Hamas had a “pretty significant opening” to reach an agreement, the official said.
There has been no truce in the war since a one-week pause in November saw 80 Israeli hostages freed in return for 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
The war has uprooted 90 percent of Gaza’s population, destroyed much of the coastal territory’s housing and other infrastructure, and left almost 500,000 people experiencing “catastrophic” hunger, according to the United Nations and other world bodies.
On Wednesday Hamas said its Qatar-based political chief Ismail Haniyeh had “made contact with the mediator brothers in Qatar and Egypt about the ideas that the movement is discussing with them with the aim of reaching an agreement.”
The same day, Netanyahu’s office said “Israel is evaluating the (Hamas) remarks” and would reply to the mediators.
The main stumbling block has been Hamas’s demand for a permanent end to the fighting, which Netanyahu and his far-right coalition partners strongly reject.
Netanyahu is also under pressure from anti-government protesters who regularly take to the streets, including on Thursday night in Jerusalem, demanding a deal to free the hostages.
Netanyahu insists the war will not end until Israel destroys Hamas and the hostages are freed.
The difficulty of destroying the militants has been illustrated by the resumption of fighting in areas that Israel’s military previously declared cleared.
Army chief Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi on Tuesday said the war on Hamas is “a long campaign, with determination and perseverance we are accomplishing our missions and wearing down the other side.”
Israel sends Mossad chief to Qatar for Gaza hostage negotiations
- Netanyahu called a meeting of his security cabinet late Thursday to discuss new Hamas proposals sent through Qatari and Egyptian mediators
- Israel believes dozens of hostages are still alive and both sides face mounting pressure to reach a deal as the war takes increasing human toll
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday ordered his spy chief to Qatar for talks with mediators on a Gaza war ceasefire that could see Hamas militants release hostages seized in the October 7 attacks, sources said.
Amidst new optimism over a possible breakthrough, Netanyahu called a meeting of his security cabinet for late Thursday to discuss new Hamas proposals sent through Qatari and Egyptian mediators, reports said.
Israel believes dozens of hostages are still alive in Gaza and with the war taking an increasing human toll in the devastated Palestinian territory both sides face mounting international pressure to reach a deal.
Mossad chief David Barnea was to lead an Israeli delegation to Qatar that has spent months trying to bring the enemies to the negotiating table, according to a source with knowledge of the talks. He was expected in Doha on Friday and was to meet the Gulf state’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
Barnea’s delegation “is traveling to Qatar in a continuation of talks on a ceasefire and hostage deal.
“He will meet with the Qatari prime minister for discussions aiming to bring the parties closer to a deal in Gaza,” the source said on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of talks.
US President Joe Biden praised the decision to send a delegation in a telephone conversation with Netanyahu, the White House said. Biden welcomed the decision to have Israeli negotiators “engage” with mediators in a bid “to close out the deal.”
The United States believes Israel and Hamas have a “pretty significant opening” to reach an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages, a senior US official said.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Hamas proposal “moves the process forward and may provide the basis for closing the deal,” while stressing it does not mean an agreement was likely in coming days, and that “significant work” remains.
Hamas had demanded an end to the war and an Israeli withdrawal as a prelude to any hostage deal.
Israel has countered that there can be no end to the war without the release of hostages. Netanyahu has also repeatedly vowed that the Gaza campaign will not end until Hamas’s military and government capabilities have been destroyed.
Hamas said late Wednesday that it had sent new “ideas” for a potential deal and Netanyahu’s office said the government was “evaluating” them.
Qatar, Egypt and the United States have been mediating between the two sides and sources close to their efforts said they have been pushing for several weeks to bridge the “gaps” between the foes.
Biden announced a pathway to a truce deal in May which he said had been proposed by Israel. This included a six-week truce to allow for talks, the release of hostages and eventually a program to rebuild devastated Gaza.
“There are important developments in the latest proposals with positive options for both sides,” said a diplomat briefed on the latest proposals. “This time the Americans are very serious about this.”
The war started with the October 7 attack on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
Hamas militants also seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza including 42 the army says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 38,011 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
