Posted by US military carries out more strikes against Houthis in Yemen
American forces have carried out strikes in Yemen against 10 attack drones and a ground control station belonging to the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, according to the US military.
Early on Thursday local time, US forces targeted a “Houthi UAV ground control station and 10 Houthi one-way UAVs” that “presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the US Navy ships in the region,” Centcom said, using an abbreviation for unmanned aerial vehicle.
Centcom earlier announced that the USS Carney had shot down an anti-ship ballistic missile fired by the Houthis, and then downed three Iranian drones less than an hour later.
It did not specify if the drones shot down by the naval destroyer were designed for attack or surveillance.
American forces also destroyed a Houthi surface-to-air missile on Wednesday that Centcom said posed an imminent threat to “US aircraft”. Agence France-Presse reports the language is a deviation from past air raids that focused on reducing the rebels’ ability to threaten international shipping.
It did not identify the type of aircraft that were threatened or the exact location of the strike, only saying that it took place in “Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.”
The Houthis began targeting Red Sea shipping in November, saying they were hitting Israeli-linked vessels in support of Palestinians in Gaza, which has been ravaged by the war.
US and UK forces have responded with strikes on the Houthis, who have since declared American and British interests to be legitimate targets as well.
Key events
Associated Press reports the bodies of nine labourers from Pakistan killed by gunmen in Iran last week were repatriated to their home country Thursday.
It was still unclear who was behind the attack Saturday in a home in Iran’s Sistan and Balochistan province. Three Pakistanis wounded in the attack were still being treated at an Iranian hospital.
Iran and Pakistan exchanged airstrikes recently, with both countries claiming they were attacking Balochistan separatist militants operating freely over their border.
Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that “dozens of Palestinian civilians were killed and others were injured” in the latest Israeli attacks on Gaza.
It writes: “A number of people were killed and dozens were injured in Israeli missile and artillery shelling and gunfire in the western region of Gaza City. Ambulances were not able to reach them to transport them to al-Shifa hospital.”
It also reports that: “Israeli artillery shelling continues on the al-Amal neighbourhood and the vicinity of the Palestine Red Crescent Society, west of the city of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, for the 11th day in a row.”
The claims have not been independently verified.
In its latest operational briefing, Israel’s military has claimed to have destroyed a long-range missile launcher and to be continuing to operate in northern and central Gaza, killing dozens of what it described as “terrorists”.
In a message posted to Telegram, the Israel Defense Forces said:
IDF troops are continuing operational activities in the northern and central Gaza Strip and in the centre of Gaza City. Over the past day, the troops eliminated dozens of terrorists. In the northern Gaza Strip, IDF troops are continuing to enter Hamas military compounds and eliminate terrorists.
IDF troops are continuing extensive activities in western Khan Younis. Over the past day, IDF troops eliminated terrorists in the area in close-quarters combat. In addition, IDF troops directed several aircraft that struck and eliminated a number of terrorists in different areas.
The claims have not been independently verified.
During the course of Israel’s military assault on Gaza since 7 October more than 26,900 Palestinians have been killed, according to the ministry of health there, which is run by Hamas. It does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in the figures. Israel has said it has lost more than 220 troops during the ground campaign, which has displaced an estimated 85% of the population of Gaza.
It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify casualty figures issued during the conflict.
Here’s one of the latest images coming out of Israel, of a funeral taking place after another soldier died in the fighting in Gaza:
The United Nations office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (Ocha) has released its latest update on the Israel-Gaza war.
It noted the intense fighting taking place in Khan Younis, saying:
Hostilities were particularly intense in Khan Younis, with heavy fighting reported near Nasser and al-Amal hospitals, and reports of Palestinians fleeing to the southern town of Rafah, which is already overcrowded, despite the lack of a safe passage.
The report also noted that ground operations and fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups had been reported across much of Gaza.
Israel’s military says its troops have killed “dozens of terrorists” over the past day in battles across the Gaza Strip, according to Reuters.
Intense bombardment continues, resulting in further civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction.
People across Gaza need the humanitarian community to have security assurances, a predictable flow of supplies and rapid and unimpeded access.
Read the full update 👇
— OCHA oPt (Palestine) (@ochaopt) February 1, 2024
The leader of Hamas is expected in Cairo on Thursday for talks on a proposed truce in Gaza.
Hamas is reviewing a proposal for a six-week truce in its war with Israel, a source told Agence France-Presse, after mediators gathered in Paris, with international efforts towards a new pause in the devastating war gathering pace.
The source says the three-stage plan would start with an initial six-week halt to the fighting that would see more aid deliveries into the Gaza Strip.
Only “women, children and sick men over 60” held by Gaza militants would be freed during that stage in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israel, the source said, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks.
There would also be “negotiations around the withdrawal of Israeli forces”, with possible additional phases involving more hostage-prisoner exchanges, said the source, adding the territory’s rebuilding was also among issues addressed by the deal.
In Gaza, fighting with Hamas and the aerial bombardment by Israel is continuing, with the current focus of combat in the main southern city of Khan Yunis, where Israel says leading Hamas militants are hiding.
Overnight, witnesses said several Israeli airstrikes hit the city, while aid and health workers have for days reported heavy fighting, particularly around two hospitals.
According to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, 119 people were killed in the latest night of strikes.
US military carries out more strikes against Houthis in Yemen
American forces have carried out strikes in Yemen against 10 attack drones and a ground control station belonging to the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, according to the US military.
Early on Thursday local time, US forces targeted a “Houthi UAV ground control station and 10 Houthi one-way UAVs” that “presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the US Navy ships in the region,” Centcom said, using an abbreviation for unmanned aerial vehicle.
Centcom earlier announced that the USS Carney had shot down an anti-ship ballistic missile fired by the Houthis, and then downed three Iranian drones less than an hour later.
It did not specify if the drones shot down by the naval destroyer were designed for attack or surveillance.
American forces also destroyed a Houthi surface-to-air missile on Wednesday that Centcom said posed an imminent threat to “US aircraft”. Agence France-Presse reports the language is a deviation from past air raids that focused on reducing the rebels’ ability to threaten international shipping.
It did not identify the type of aircraft that were threatened or the exact location of the strike, only saying that it took place in “Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.”
The Houthis began targeting Red Sea shipping in November, saying they were hitting Israeli-linked vessels in support of Palestinians in Gaza, which has been ravaged by the war.
US and UK forces have responded with strikes on the Houthis, who have since declared American and British interests to be legitimate targets as well.
Welcome and opening summary
It’s 7:45am in Gaza and Tel Aviv and 8:45am in Sana’a, the capital of Yemen. Welcome to our latest blog on the Middle East crisis. I’m Reged Ahmad and I’ll be with you for the next while.
The United States says it conducted strikes against a drone control station and up to 10 unmanned drones in Yemen that were preparing to launch. In a statement posted on X by US central command (Centcom) it said they posed an “imminent threat to US vessels and the US Navy ships in the region”.
A US Navy ship also shot down three Iranian drones and a Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile in the Gulf of Aden, according to Centcom. More on that in a moment but first, here’s a summary of the latest events so far:
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A senior Hamas official has told the Reuters news agency that the group is studying a new proposal for a ceasefire and release of hostages in Gaza, presented by mediators after talks with Israel. The ceasefire proposal followed talks in Paris involving intelligence chiefs from Israel, the United States and Egypt, with the prime minister of Qatar.
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In its latest operational update, Israel’s military says it continues to operate in the central and northern Gaza Strip, and claims its forces are “conducting targeted raids on terrorist infrastructure and eliminating dozens of terrorists”. In al-Shati in the north, it claims to have killed ten people and to have “located large quantities of weapons, as well as documents and military equipment belonging to the Hamas terrorist organisation”. The IDF has announced that three soldiers were killed in Gaza on Monday.
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The head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) has vowed the country is not afraid of war with the US. The commander-in-chief, Maj Gen Hossein Salami, said: “We hear some threats from American officials about targeting Iran. We tell them that you tested us and we know each other. We do not leave any threat unanswered, and we do not look for war, but we are not afraid of it. This is the well-known truth.”
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Security forces in Sweden have found a suspicious object at the Israeli embassy in Stockholm. A controlled detonation is to be carried out.
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Israeli media reports several protesters have been detained by police at the Kerem Shalom border crossing where for days a group has been gathering attempting to prevent humanitarian aid crossing into the Gaza Strip while Hamas still holds people hostage.
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The EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said on Wednesday he was hopeful it could be decided later in the day which member state could lead the forthcoming EU mission to protect vessels in the Red Sea, adding the operation could be launched before mid-February.
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The head of Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd shipping company has said he does not expect disruption to Red Sea voyages caused by Yemen’s Houthis to end anytime soon.