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Yemeni Forces Intercept Military Shipment Headed to Houthis

Some of the confiscated gear that was being smuggled to the Houthis. (EPA)
Some of the confiscated gear that was being smuggled to the Houthis. (EPA)
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Yemeni Forces Intercept Military Shipment Headed to Houthis

Some of the confiscated gear that was being smuggled to the Houthis. (EPA)
Some of the confiscated gear that was being smuggled to the Houthis. (EPA)

Yemeni forces seized a vessel off the Lahj coast west of Aden that was loaded with military gear and drone components headed to the Iran-backed Houthi militias.

The bust demonstrates Iran’s continued support to the group that has escalated its attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

The Giants Brigades said a joint security operation, led by Brigadier General Hamdi Shukri, commander of the Brigades’ Second Unit, intercepted the shipment. Three smugglers were on board the vessel.

The confiscated shipment included advanced military gear, drone parts, surveillance equipment, advanced electronic chips, high accuracy cameras that are fitted on drones for night and day surveillance, communication devices, remote controls, high-capacity batteries and carbon fibers used in drone manufacturing.

This was the third busted smuggling attempt in recent weeks.

Yemeni authorities had seized a similar shipment in Aden in August that contained espionage devices and drones. A United Nations report at the time had found that the Houthis were involved in a weapons smuggling network that includes the Al-Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula and the extremist Al-Shabaab group in Somalia.

Weeks ago, Yemen’s coast guard seized off the western coast a vessel loaded with over 700 tons of advanced weapons that was headed to areas held by the Houthis.

In a recent report, the London-based Conflict Armament Research said the Houthis had obtained advanced weapons from Iran through sophisticated smuggling networks. Among the weapons were air defense systems, anti-ship missiles and components used in drones.

The weapons shipments seized near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait showed that the majority of the weapons were connected to Iranian networks that had been documented in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. The report confirmed that such support has allowed the Houthis to expand the scope of their military and air operations, including attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

The Houthis have carried out over 220 attacks on marine shipping in the past two years. They had started these attacks in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza since the eruption of the war between Israel and Hamas in October 2023.

Government sources said the frequent busts of smuggling operations demonstrate that the Houthis continue to build an arsenal of advanced naval and air weapons through Iranian support in defiance of UN Security Council resolution and in service of goals that go beyond Yemen.

Information Minister in Yemen’s legitimate government Moammar al-Eryani said the Houthi attacks against commercial ships and oil tankers in international shipping lanes were not acts of solidarity with Gaza as they claim, but rather implementation of an Iranian agenda.

The escalation of these attacks since Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack reflects Iran’s attempts to consolidate its presence and influence in strategic waterways and it is using the Houthis as a pressure card in its conflict with the international community, he said in official statements.

Moreover, he added that the Houthi attack against a Dutch ship in the Gulf of Aden on September 29 took place just days after European powers reactivated the snapback mechanism, demonstrating that Tehran spurs the Houthis to action to serve its interests.

The Iranian regime is using the militias to extort and threaten the international community whenever it finds itself cornered or when its room to maneuver becomes limited, explained the minister.

As the war on Gaza draws to an end in wake of US President Donald Trump’s peace plane, the world will discover that the Houthis are an arm of Iran’s Wilayet al-Faqih agenda that has nothing to do with the interests of the Yemeni or Palestinian people, he stressed.

He called on the international community, starting with the European Union and UK, to assume their legal and moral responsibilities and designate the Houthis as terrorists who threaten international peace and security.

Eryani also urged support for the legitimate government in its battle to protect marine passages and Yemen’s sovereignty.

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Arab World

Hamas Pushes to Elect Leader to Demonstrate Unity, Heed ‘External Advice’

Palestinian women mourn during the funeral of a man killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza City on Thursday. (AFP)
Palestinian women mourn during the funeral of a man killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza City on Thursday. (AFP)
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Hamas Pushes to Elect Leader to Demonstrate Unity, Heed ‘External Advice’

Palestinian women mourn during the funeral of a man killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza City on Thursday. (AFP)
Palestinian women mourn during the funeral of a man killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza City on Thursday. (AFP)

Hamas is pressing ahead with efforts to elect a new political bureau chief despite ongoing Gaza ceasefire negotiations and continued Israeli military operations, a move that officials say is intended to project internal unity and respond to recommendations from outside parties close to the movement.

The push comes after a first round of voting in May failed to produce a winner between the two leading contenders: Khalil al-Hayya, a member of Hamas’s leadership council, and Khaled Meshaal, the veteran leader of the movement’s overseas branch.

Sources within Hamas said the accelerated election process is driven by several factors, including a desire to project internal consensus and recommendations from outside parties close to the movement.

Under Hamas regulations, the new leader would initially serve a short term lasting until early next year, with the possibility of an extension until broader internal elections are completed.

A senior Hamas official based outside the Palestinian territories said electing a political bureau chief is necessary to ensure stability within the movement. He noted that the leadership council had originally been expected to continue managing Hamas’s affairs until the next internal elections, but several developments prompted a decision to fast-track the selection of a new leader.

Among those factors, the official said, is the need to make both internal and external decisions while demonstrating unity to observers, supporters and Hamas’ broader constituency. “There is a need to show that capable leaders are in place to guide the movement through this critical period,” he said.

The official added that several outside actors with close ties to Hamas have encouraged the movement to appoint a clearly identifiable leader, arguing that such a step is politically important. He declined to identify those parties.

For roughly the past year and a half, Hamas has been run by a leadership council headed by Mohammed Darwish, chairman of the movement’s Shura Council. The body includes leaders representing Gaza, the West Bank and Hamas’s overseas branches, as well as the movement’s secretary-general.

Another source said Darwish himself pushed for the election process to resume in order to fill the leadership vacancy. While he has effectively represented the movement through the leadership council, he is expected to return to his previous role as head of the Shura Council once a new chief is chosen.

The source noted that a combination of personal considerations and organizational concerns, both internal and external, contributed to Darwish’s support for holding the election.

Asked whether Darwish may be seeking to avoid responsibility for major decisions expected in the coming months — particularly as ceasefire negotiations enter a sensitive phase involving the future of Hamas’s weapons — the source rejected the notion.

“Such decisions are not made by one person, even if that person is the head of the political bureau,” the source underlined. “All major decisions are reached through consensus within the political bureau and the movement’s executive bodies.”

While emphasizing that responsibility for consequential decisions is collective, the source acknowledged that the movement’s leader still plays an important role during pivotal moments.

Military Wing Backed Vote

Three Hamas sources in Gaza said the push to elect a political bureau chief was strongly supported by both the movement’s Gaza leadership and its military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, even before the killings of senior commanders Izz al-Din al-Haddad and Mohammed Awda.

One source said al-Haddad believed Hamas needed a clearly defined leader under current circumstances and that other Qassam commanders shared that view. He also participated in the most recent round of voting.

The assassination campaign targeting Hamas and Qassam leaders in Gaza temporarily interrupted the election process. According to one source, the vote was postponed to allow the military wing to reorganize its leadership structure and ensure that both military and political leaders in Gaza could participate securely.

The sources said electing an overall movement leader would also give Hamas’ three regional branches — Gaza, the West Bank and the external leadership — greater flexibility in managing their own affairs. The winner of the race, either al-Hayya or Meshaal, would vacate his current regional leadership post, creating an opportunity for a new figure to assume responsibility for either Gaza or Hamas’ overseas organization.

Arab World

Lebanon Detains Suspect Accused of Importing Equipment for Hezbollah Drone Production

Two Israeli soldiers take cover from a Hezbollah drone near the Lebanon border. (AFP) 
Two Israeli soldiers take cover from a Hezbollah drone near the Lebanon border. (AFP) 
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Lebanon Detains Suspect Accused of Importing Equipment for Hezbollah Drone Production

Two Israeli soldiers take cover from a Hezbollah drone near the Lebanon border. (AFP) 
Two Israeli soldiers take cover from a Hezbollah drone near the Lebanon border. (AFP) 

Lebanese authorities have detained a Lebanese national at the request of French judicial authorities on suspicion of importing electrical equipment from France for Hezbollah, allegedly for use in military activities, particularly the manufacture of drones.

The Internal Security Forces’ Information Branch arrested the suspect, identified as Rabih T., and launched an investigation under the direction of Prosecutor General Ahmad Rami al-Hajj, who is personally overseeing the case.

A senior judicial source said the arrest followed a French judicial request seeking the suspect’s detention and extradition for questioning in connection with a network dismantled in France that is suspected of exporting equipment and devices to Hezbollah.

According to the source, who requested anonymity, the suspect underwent preliminary questioning by the Information Branch under the direct supervision of Prosecutor General al-Hajj and Military Court Commissioner Judge Claude Ghanem.

During the interrogation, he acknowledged importing three shipments of electrical equipment and devices, which he later handed over to an individual he said he knew only by a nickname and who is believed to be affiliated with Hezbollah.

The suspect reportedly told investigators he was unaware that the equipment could be used for military manufacturing purposes.

The case comes amid growing international scrutiny of Hezbollah’s financing channels and its military and technological capabilities, particularly programs linked to the development of unmanned aerial vehicles.

The judicial source said the suspect admitted importing the equipment through maritime shipping as part of larger consignments of electrical supplies for his company.

He told investigators that he owns a business operating in the electrical equipment sector and that the imports were conducted as part of his normal commercial activities.

He denied any knowledge of the equipment’s ultimate use or the purpose for which it had been imported.

The statements are considered significant because investigators suspect the imported devices may have been used in the production of motors or other technical components for Hezbollah drones, a key focus of ongoing investigations in both Lebanon and France.

Alongside the security and judicial inquiries, Lebanese authorities have formally notified France of the suspect’s arrest.

The source said the Public Prosecution Office has requested a complete copy of the French investigation and supporting documents to assist Lebanese authorities in assessing the evidence underlying the French judicial request and determining the accuracy of the allegations.

The Information Branch has completed its preliminary investigation and referred the case to the military prosecutor’s office. Judge Ghanem subsequently filed charges against the suspect and transferred the case to a military investigating judge.

Authorities have also issued a search order aimed at identifying and apprehending a second individual believed to be involved.

Although the military judiciary has formally taken up the case, judicial officials say the investigation remains in its early stages.

The significance of the case, the source said, will largely depend on the evidence provided by French authorities, including details about the imported equipment, its actual end use, and the identities of members of the suspected network in both France and Lebanon.

Investigators are seeking to determine whether the imports were legitimate commercial transactions later diverted to unauthorized uses without the importer’s knowledge, or whether they formed part of a broader network involved in procuring technical components for Hezbollah’s military-development programs — a scenario that would give the case security implications extending well beyond Lebanon.

 

 

 

Arab World

Israeli Minister Says 'All of Lebanon Must Burn' after 4 Soldiers Killed

A photograph taken from the southern Lebanese region of Marjayoun shows smoke rising following an Israeli airstrike on the village of Choukine on June 19, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
A photograph taken from the southern Lebanese region of Marjayoun shows smoke rising following an Israeli airstrike on the village of Choukine on June 19, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
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Israeli Minister Says 'All of Lebanon Must Burn' after 4 Soldiers Killed

A photograph taken from the southern Lebanese region of Marjayoun shows smoke rising following an Israeli airstrike on the village of Choukine on June 19, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
A photograph taken from the southern Lebanese region of Marjayoun shows smoke rising following an Israeli airstrike on the village of Choukine on June 19, 2026. (Photo by AFP)

Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said Friday that "all of Lebanon must burn" after Israel's military announced the deaths of four soldiers there.

"With all due respect to the Americans, Israel must make it clear to the entire world that the blood of our sons and the security of our citizens are not up for bargaining. All of Lebanon must burn," Ben Gvir said in a statement.

Lebanon said 18 people were killed Friday in Israeli airstrikes in the south.

Israel had said it was striking Hezbollah targets overnight and into the morning, while the Iran-backed militant group said it was attacking Israeli forces around the southern town of Nabatieh.

The strikes were the deadliest since Iran and the United States agreed to halt the wider Middle East war on Monday.

The Israeli military, meanwhile, said Lieutenant Colonel Dor Gedalia Ben Simhon had "fallen in combat" along with three other soldiers it did not immediately identify.

In a separate statement it reported a reserve officer was severely wounded "as a result of an explosive drone impact in southern Lebanon,” with four other soldiers lightly injured in the incident.