UN Rights Chief Travels to Middle East Amid Gaza Escalation 

Palestinians walk by the buildings destroyed in the Israeli bombardment on al-Zahra, on the outskirts of Gaza City, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023. (AP)
Palestinians walk by the buildings destroyed in the Israeli bombardment on al-Zahra, on the outskirts of Gaza City, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023. (AP)
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UN Rights Chief Travels to Middle East Amid Gaza Escalation 

Palestinians walk by the buildings destroyed in the Israeli bombardment on al-Zahra, on the outskirts of Gaza City, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023. (AP)
Palestinians walk by the buildings destroyed in the Israeli bombardment on al-Zahra, on the outskirts of Gaza City, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023. (AP)

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, began a five-day visit to the Middle East on Tuesday to engage with government officials and civil society on the human rights violations taking place amid Israel's escalation in Gaza.

"It has been one full month of carnage, of incessant suffering, bloodshed, destruction, outrage and despair," Turk said in a statement. "Human rights violations are at the root of this escalation and human rights play a central role in finding a way out of this vortex of pain."

Turk is in Cairo on Tuesday and will visit Rafah, located on the border with Gaza, on Wednesday, before he travels to the Jordanian capital of Amman on Thursday, his office said.



Israel Bombs Power Station and Two Ports Controlled by Houthis in Yemen

 Black smoke raises following airstrikes on Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP)
Black smoke raises following airstrikes on Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP)
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Israel Bombs Power Station and Two Ports Controlled by Houthis in Yemen

 Black smoke raises following airstrikes on Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP)
Black smoke raises following airstrikes on Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP)

Israeli warplanes bombed a power station and two ports in Houthi-controlled Yemen on Friday in retaliation for Houthi drone and missile strikes against Israel, and pro-Houthi media said at least one person had been killed and nine wounded.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Iran-backed Houthi militias were "paying and will continue to pay a heavy price for their aggression against us".

A series of airstrikes targeted the Red Sea port of Ras Issa and six others the major port of Hodeidah, said Al Masirah TV, the main news outlet run by the Houthis, while Harf Sufyan District in Amran province also came under air attack.

An employee at the Ras Issa port was killed and six others were injured, the outlet said.

Earlier, British security firm Ambrey said airstrikes on the Ras Issa port targeted oil storage facilities in the vicinity of shipping berths, though no merchant vessels were reported to have been damaged.

The supply of petroleum derivatives is stable, the Houthi government spokesperson Hashem Sharaf Eddine said after the attack.

Thirteen airstrikes also targeted the Hezyaz central power station in Yemen's capital Sanaa, Al Masirah TV reported. It said three citizens had been injured, including a worker at Hezyaz, and a number of homes had been damaged.

An Israeli military statement confirmed the targets, saying the power station served as a "central source of energy for the Houthi terrorist regime in its military activities". It added that the targets struck were examples of the "Houthis' exploitation of civilian infrastructure".

Within the past 48 hours, the Houthis have fired three drones at Israel's commercial hub Tel Aviv and more drones and missiles at the US aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said.

The Houthis have targeted Israel, hundreds of kilometers to the north as well as international shipping in waters near Yemen since November 2023 in support of Palestinians at war with Israel in Gaza.

Israel has responded with airstrikes in Houthi-held areas of Yemen, as have British and US forces in the region.

Netanyahu said last month Israel was only at the beginning of its campaign against the Houthis.