Houthis Launch Drone, Rocket Attack on Military Camp in Yemen’s Saada

Commander of the Alab axis Yasser Majali is seen at the military parade in Saada. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Commander of the Alab axis Yasser Majali is seen at the military parade in Saada. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Houthis Launch Drone, Rocket Attack on Military Camp in Yemen’s Saada

Commander of the Alab axis Yasser Majali is seen at the military parade in Saada. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Commander of the Alab axis Yasser Majali is seen at the military parade in Saada. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Iran-backed Houthi militias launched on Saturday an attack against a military camp in Yemen’s northern Saada province, killing one and injuring a number of people.

The attack in the Alab-Baqem area took place days after the Houthis attacked Bahraini troops in the Arab Coalitions to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen deployed on Saudi Arabia’s southern border, killing four servicemen.

Saturday’s attack, using drones and katyusha rockets, targeted a military parade commemorating the September 26 revolution in Yemen.

Member of the Presidential Leadership Council Abdulrahman al-Mahrami condemned the attack, saying it reflects the Houthis’ despair as they are constantly being confronted by the heroics of the military.

The command at the camp said the Houthis are defying regional and international efforts to establish peace in Yemen.

The militias carried out an assault along the Alab-Baqem axis, as well as the camp, it explained.

The military repelled the attack, downing several drones, it added, while stressing its right to respond to such violations in line with performing its national duties.

Spokesman for the military Abdo Majali warned that the repeated Houthi attacks on the legitimate forces or Arab Coalition will impact peace efforts.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, he accused the Houthis of rejecting all regional and international peace efforts, as demonstrated by the latest attacks.

He noted that the military has become better trained and equipped in repelling attacks, but it is also keen on ensuring the success of peace efforts and lifting the morale of the people.



Hamas Says 'Positive Response' from Mediators to its Ceasefire Amendments

Palestinians clear a road from building rubble with a bulldozer following overnight Israeli bombardment which hit the al-Habash family home at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on March 20, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Palestinians clear a road from building rubble with a bulldozer following overnight Israeli bombardment which hit the al-Habash family home at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on March 20, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
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Hamas Says 'Positive Response' from Mediators to its Ceasefire Amendments

Palestinians clear a road from building rubble with a bulldozer following overnight Israeli bombardment which hit the al-Habash family home at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on March 20, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Palestinians clear a road from building rubble with a bulldozer following overnight Israeli bombardment which hit the al-Habash family home at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on March 20, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

Hamas says amendments it proposed to the most recent US plan for a ceasefire in Gaza “have been met with a positive response by the mediators.” However, “the official Israeli position has not yet become clear,” and no date for negotiations has been set, Hamas spokesperson Jihad Taha said Friday.

Ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas appear to be reviving after having stalled for weeks, as US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators try to overcome differences that have repeatedly thwarted a deal.

Late Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he was sending negotiators to Qatar next week, but “there are still gaps between the parties.”

Hamas wants an agreement that ensures Israeli troops fully leave Gaza and that the war ends, while Israel says it cannot halt the war before the Palestinian militant group is eliminated. Post-war governance and security control of the enclave have also been contentious issues.

In the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health officials say an Israeli military operation and airstrike killed seven Palestinians on Friday. The Islamic Jihad militant group named four of the dead as its members. Violence has surged throughout the West Bank during nearly nine months of war in Gaza.

Israel launched the war in Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250.

Since then, Israeli ground offensives and bombardments have killed more than 38,000 people in Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count.

The war has caused massive devastation across the besieged territory and displaced most of its 2.3 million people, often multiple times. Israeli restrictions, ongoing fighting and the breakdown of law and order have curtailed humanitarian aid efforts, causing widespread hunger and sparking fears of famine. The top UN court has concluded there is a “plausible risk of genocide” in Gaza — a charge Israel strongly denies.