US Navy Downed Drone Originating from Houthi-Controlled Part of Yemen

Houthi militants stand guard near an army vehicle with a Palestinian flag, at a government complex, in Sanaa, Yemen, 04 December 2023. (EPA)
Houthi militants stand guard near an army vehicle with a Palestinian flag, at a government complex, in Sanaa, Yemen, 04 December 2023. (EPA)
TT
20

US Navy Downed Drone Originating from Houthi-Controlled Part of Yemen

Houthi militants stand guard near an army vehicle with a Palestinian flag, at a government complex, in Sanaa, Yemen, 04 December 2023. (EPA)
Houthi militants stand guard near an army vehicle with a Palestinian flag, at a government complex, in Sanaa, Yemen, 04 December 2023. (EPA)

The US Navy shot down a drone that originated from a part of Yemen controlled by the Iran-backed Houthi militias on Wednesday morning, a US defense official told Reuters on Wednesday.

The Houthis' military spokesman later said the militias fired several ballistic missiles at military posts in the southern Israeli city of Eilat.

In a statement, the Houthis said they would continue to "carry out their military operations against the Israeli enemy, as well as implementing the decision to prevent Israeli ships from navigating the Arab and Red Seas in support of the oppressed Palestinian people."

It is the sixth time the US Navy has fired upon drones in the southern Red Sea since war broke out between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Oct. 7 and comes amid a series of attacks on commercial vessels in Middle Eastern waters.

Earlier on Wednesday, Britain's Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency and British maritime security company Ambrey reported an incident involving a suspected drone over the Red Sea west of the Yemeni port of Hodeidah.

UKMTO warned vessels transiting the area to exercise caution.

There was no damage to US Navy vessels or injuries to US personnel in the attack, said the US official, who declined to be named.

The US military said on Sunday that three commercial vessels had come under attack in the southern Red Sea.

The Houthis on Sunday claimed drone and missile attacks on two Israeli vessels in the area, saying in a broadcast that the attacks came in response to the demands of Yemenis to stand with the Palestinian people.



Lebanon's Salam Calls for 'Full Israeli Withdrawal' while Visiting Border Areas

Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam checks a map surrounded by Lebanese army soldiers as he visits the sourthern village of Khiam near the border with Israel, on February 28, 2025. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)
Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam checks a map surrounded by Lebanese army soldiers as he visits the sourthern village of Khiam near the border with Israel, on February 28, 2025. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)
TT
20

Lebanon's Salam Calls for 'Full Israeli Withdrawal' while Visiting Border Areas

Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam checks a map surrounded by Lebanese army soldiers as he visits the sourthern village of Khiam near the border with Israel, on February 28, 2025. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)
Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam checks a map surrounded by Lebanese army soldiers as he visits the sourthern village of Khiam near the border with Israel, on February 28, 2025. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)

Lebanon’s new prime minister, Nawaf Salam, used a tour on Friday of areas near the border with Israel that suffered wide destruction during the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war to call for an Israeli withdrawal and promised residents of border villages a safe return to their homes and reconstruction.
Salam's visit came two days after his government won a vote of confidence in parliament.
“This is the first real working day of the government. We salute the army and its martyrs,” Salam said in the southern port city of Tyre while meeting residents of the border village of Dheira. “We promise you a safe return to your homes as soon as possible.”
The government is committed to the reconstruction of destroyed homes, which “is not a promise but a personal commitment by myself and the government,” Salam added.
Israel withdrew its troops from much of the border area earlier this month, but left five outlooking posts inside Lebanon, in what Lebanese officials called a violation of the US-brokered ceasefire that came into effect on Nov. 27, ending the war.
Salam said his government is gathering Arab and international support in order “to force the enemy to withdraw from our occupied lands and the so-called five points.”
“There is no real and lasting stability without full Israeli withdrawal,” he said.
During his tour, Salam -- who also visited the southern cities of Marjayoun and Nabatiyeh — praised the UN peacekeeping force, known as UNIFIL.
In mid-February, UNIFIL’s outgoing deputy commander was injured when Hezbollah-linked protesters attacked a convoy taking peacekeepers to the Beirut airport.
On Friday, three judicial officials told The Associated Press that 26 people have been charged in the attack on UNIFIL, including five who are in detention and the rest remain at large.
The officials said 26 have were charged late Thursday by the Military Court’s Government Commissioner Judge Fadi Akiki with terrorism, undermining state authority, robbery and forming a gang to carry out evil acts. The judicial officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said those charged could get up to life in prison.
The officials also said that a bag was stolen from UNIFIL’s convoy that had about $30,000 in cash and that the money is still missing.