Houthis Prepare to End Partnership with Yemen’s Saleh

Former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. (Reuters)
Former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. (Reuters)
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Houthis Prepare to End Partnership with Yemen’s Saleh

Former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. (Reuters)
Former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. (Reuters)

It appears that former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is nicknamed the “fox” due to his expertise in political maneuvering with his friends before his enemies, is approaching a new phase in his career, this time in regards to his ties with his allies, the Houthi insurgents.

The Houthis announced on Monday the termination of the reconciliation reached with Saleh in September 2014, marking the beginning of possibly one of the most dangerous chapters in the former president’s political career.

Informed Yemeni sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the situation in Sana’a has reached a boiling point and that the next 48 hours may witness “a heavy blow” dealt by one side to the other.

According to the obtained information, armed Houthis have come very close to Saleh’s al-Sabeen security zone, while pro-Saleh forces have started to depart Sana’a in anticipation of a possible siege against them.

These developments come at a time when a Yemeni source said that the Houthi militia decided to end its alliance with Saleh and prepare to implement a plan that will see his arrest and transfer to the Saada province.

No official information has been released to confirm this scenario.

Yemeni security and political researcher Mohammed al-Walas said that this information may have been deliberately leaked to test Saleh’s alliance.

What is certain however, he added is that Saleh’s arrest and transfer to Saada has become one of the main options for the Houthis in order to uncover the former president’s secret files that he still keeps to himself in regards to his local and foreign ties.

Walas said that Saleh is “now besieged in Sana’a.”



Israeli Troops Expand 'Security Zone' in Northern Gaza

A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising above destroyed buildings in the southern part of the Palestinian territory  on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising above destroyed buildings in the southern part of the Palestinian territory on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
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Israeli Troops Expand 'Security Zone' in Northern Gaza

A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising above destroyed buildings in the southern part of the Palestinian territory  on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising above destroyed buildings in the southern part of the Palestinian territory on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)

Israeli troops moved into an area of northern Gaza to expand what they call a security zone around the edge of the enclave, the military said on Friday, days after the government announced plans to seize large areas with an operation in the south.

Soldiers carrying out the operation in Shejaia, a suburb east of Gaza City in the north, were letting civilians out via organized routes, the military said in a statement.

Israel issued evacuation warnings in the area on Thursday, and hundreds of residents streamed out, some carrying their belongings as they walked, others on donkey carts and bikes or in vans, reported Reuters.

Gaza health authorities said Israeli forces killed at least 27 people, including women and children, in an airstrike on a school building in Gaza City where displaced families were sheltering.

The military said the Dar Al-Arqam school building in Tuffah neighborhood in Gaza City had been used a command and control center by Hamas militants and accused the fighters of deliberately using civilian infrastructure as bases. Hamas denies that it operates among civilians.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been fleeing their homes in recent days in one of the biggest mass exoduses of the war, as Israeli forces have moved to expand the territory under their control.

On the southern edge of Gaza, Israeli troops have been consolidating around the ruins of the city of Rafah.

Israel has not fully explained its long-term aim for the areas it is now seizing as a security zone. Gaza residents say they believe the aim is to permanently depopulate swathes of land, including some of Gaza's last farmland and water infrastructure.

The military said it had killed numerous militants and dismantled infrastructure, including what it said was a Hamas command and control center.

Palestinians say Israel's ultimate aim is to displace Gaza's population permanently, in line with a plan announced by US President Donald Trump to turn the enclave into a waterfront resort under US control. Israel says it would encourage Palestinians who wish to leave voluntarily.

Israeli troops resumed their operation in Gaza on March 18, following a two-month truce. Ministers have said the operation will continue until 59 hostages still held in Gaza are returned. Hamas says it will free them only under a deal that brings a permanent end to the war.

The war began when Hamas fighters stormed into Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and capturing more than 250 hostages, by Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel has reduced much of Gaza to ruins and killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave's health authorities.