Deadly attacks by Iran-backed Houthis on Saudi airports highlight widening fallout from Yemen conflict

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By AFP | Posted by TOE Saudi authorities said Wednesday three people were killed in attacks on two of the kingdom’s international airports, including in the capital Riyadh, after Yemen’s Houthis claimed to have fired on both transport hubs. The Iran-backed Houthis have claimed a wave of attacks on Saudi civilian infrastructure in recent weeks, which came as Riyadh-backed forces pressed a counter-offensive against the group’s territorial gains. Since Yemen’s civil war reignited in July, more than 200,000 people have been displaced within the country, the United Nations said Wednesday. The Houthis claimed an attack on Riyadh’s main airport, while the Saudi-led coalition — which backs Yemen’s internationally recognised government in its fight against the group — vowed retaliation. The Houthis later claimed another attack on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport on Thursday and repeated a warning — “...
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Hamas says US Gaza ceasefire plan backed by Israel fails to meet its demands

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Hamas will reject the latest US proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, a senior official from the Palestinian terror group said. A senior Hamas official told the BBC that the proposed deal did not satisfy the group’s demands, which include a permanent end to the war.

By Samia Nakhoul and Hatem Maher Reuters

A U.S. plan for Gaza seen by Reuters on Friday proposes a 60-day ceasefire and the release of 28 Israeli hostages alive and dead in the first week, in exchange for the release of 1,236 Palestinian prisoners and the remains of 180 dead Palestinians.

The document, which says the plan is guaranteed by U.S. President Donald Trump and mediators Egypt and Qatar, includes sending humanitarian aid to Gaza as soon as Hamas signs off on the ceasefire agreement.

The aid will be delivered by the United Nations, the Red Crescent and other agreed channels.

On Thursday, the White House said Israel had agreed to the U.S. ceasefire proposal.

Israeli media said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the families of hostages held in Gaza that Israel had accepted the deal presented by President Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas told Reuters it was reviewing the plan and would respond on Friday or Saturday.

The U.S. plan provides for Hamas to release the last 30 of the 58 remaining Israeli hostages once a permanent ceasefire is in place. Israel will also cease all military operations in Gaza as soon as the truce takes effect, it shows.

The Israeli army will also redeploy its troops in stages.

Deep differences between Hamas and Israel have stymied previous attempts to restore a ceasefire that broke down in March.

Israel has insisted that Hamas disarm completely, be dismantled as a military and governing force and return all 58 hostages still held in Gaza before it will agree to end the war.

Hamas has rejected the demand to give up its weapons and says Israel must pull its troops out of Gaza and commit to ending the war.

Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas attack in its south on October 7, 2023, that killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 Israelis taken hostage into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

The subsequent Israeli military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, Gaza health officials say, and left the enclave in ruins.

MOUNTING PRESSURE

Israel has come under increasing international pressure, with many European countries usually reluctant to criticise it openly demanding an end to the war and a major relief effort.

Witkoff told reporters on Wednesday that Washington was close to “sending out a new term sheet” about a ceasefire by the two sides in the conflict.

“I have some very good feelings about getting to a long-term resolution, temporary ceasefire and a long-term resolution, a peaceful resolution, of that conflict,” Witkoff said at the time.

The 60-day ceasefire, according to the plan, may be extended if negotiations for a permanent ceasefire are not concluded within the set period.

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said on Thursday the terms of the proposal echoed Israel’s position and did not contain commitments to end the war, withdraw Israeli troops or admit aid as Hamas has demanded.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private group backed by the United States and endorsed by Israel, expanded its aid distribution to a third site in Gaza on Thursday.

Heavily criticised by the United Nations and other aid groups as inadequate and flawed, the group began its operation this week in Gaza, where the U.N. has said 2 million people are at risk of famine after Israel’s 11-week blockade on aid entering the enclave.

The launch was marred by tumultuous scenes on Tuesday as thousands of Palestinians rushed to distribution points and forced private security contractors to retreat.

The chaotic start to the operation has raised international pressure on Israel to get more food in and halt the fighting in Gaza. GHF has so far supplied about 1.8 million meals and plans to open more sites in coming weeks.



from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/7SRGMbz

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