Aden Airport Receives First Commercial Flight

A Yemenia Airways Airbus A320 aircraft is pictured at the Sana'a Airport March 28, 2015. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/File Photo
A Yemenia Airways Airbus A320 aircraft is pictured at the Sana'a Airport March 28, 2015. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/File Photo
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Aden Airport Receives First Commercial Flight

A Yemenia Airways Airbus A320 aircraft is pictured at the Sana'a Airport March 28, 2015. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/File Photo
A Yemenia Airways Airbus A320 aircraft is pictured at the Sana'a Airport March 28, 2015. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/File Photo

Yemen’s National Airline announced on Tuesday a commercial flight had landed at Aden international airport after acquiring security permits.

A Yemeni airlines official said a flight took off from Cairo and landed in Aden on Tuesday before returning to the Egyptian capital, according to Reuters.

The official said the flights would increase gradually over the coming days.

The new commercial flight came after Saudi Arabia's ambassador to UN Abdallah al-Mouallimi announced Saudi-led coalition's determination to gradually reopen some of the country’s ports and airports.

Mouallimi told reporters that the government-held ports in Aden, Mukala and al-Mokha, as well as airports in Aden, Seiyun and Socotra, would be opened very soon.

“We would like to confirm that steps are being taken by the coalition to start the process of reopening airports and sea ports in Yemen to allow for the safe transfer of humanitarian actors and humanitarian and commercial shipments,” said the Ambassador. 

Meanwhile, military sources reported that the Yemeni National Army carried out a military operation that terminated Houthis' threats against reinforcements to Taiz, south of Yemen.

Deputy spokesperson for government forces in Taiz Colonel Abdul Basit al-Bahar said the army forces cleansed al-Nasira and al-Shouhouj sites, last strategic location in Jashea mountain under insurgents control. He explained that this victory had been achieved with the support of the Saudi-led air force that raided several times on the locations.

After army forces regained control over al-Sawaleh mountain, insurgents transported their injured members to Jashea mountain, and then fled the area while the residents gathered the supplies insurgents had left behind, according to the source.

Military sources reported that army forces attacked insurgent sites in al-Kaous, Asaq, and al-Tawilah mountains in Haifan district on Monday.

Seven armed members of Houthi-Saleh militias were killed and six others injured as they tried to attack military locations, while the army units succeeded in breaking into Houthi bases at al-Khazja and al-Mafalis fronts.

Bahar confirmed that reinforcements were sent to the army on al-Kapetah and al-Maqatrah fronts of Lahj district, while plans were set in preparation for a military operation on Taiz’s southern and western fronts.

Military advancements in Taiz’s countryside coincided with the army forces’ attack on Nahim front, west of Sana’a, as the liberation of Masourah area is being planned.

In Baydah district, clashes continued between insurgents and popular resistance in az-Zahir front. The resistance proceeded to control new sites as the insurgents targeted residential areas and farms. Insurgents also continued to attack civilians through sniper fire, locals told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Political activist Ahmed al-Hamzi also told the newspaper that the popular resistance regained control over new sites in az-Zahir and Dhi Naim following fierce clashes with the insurgents.

Hamzi stated that popular resistance was backed by the coalition air force which raided insurgent sites in al-Jamajim, killing and injuring several militants and destroying a tank as well as a number of weapons and artillery.

The activist stated that Houthi-Saleh militias continue to target civilians with sniper fire. A nine-year-old, was targeted by a militia sniper while sitting in his father’s car in al-Mohsen village.

Vice President Lt-Gen Ali Mohsen Saleh visited on Tuesday the headquarters of Combat Operations Directorate in Maerib province.

He toured the directorate’s departments and was briefed on the significant functions, mechanisms and efforts made by the directorate as well as the results of several combat operations.

Mohsen, then, held a meeting with the directorate’s officers during which he lauded Saudi-led Coalition forces’ contribution and logistic and military support to rebuild the military institution and in thwarting Iran-backed coup.

He praised efforts exerted by the directorate’s leadership and staff and highlighted their significant role in coordinating battlefield operations.



EU Exploring Support for New Gaza Administration Committee, Document Says

Palestinians push a cart past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the two-year Israeli offensives, in Gaza City, February 17, 2026. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Palestinians push a cart past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the two-year Israeli offensives, in Gaza City, February 17, 2026. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
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EU Exploring Support for New Gaza Administration Committee, Document Says

Palestinians push a cart past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the two-year Israeli offensives, in Gaza City, February 17, 2026. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Palestinians push a cart past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the two-year Israeli offensives, in Gaza City, February 17, 2026. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

The European Union is exploring possible support for a new committee established to take over the civil administration of Gaza, according to a document produced by the bloc's diplomatic arm and seen by Reuters.

"The EU is engaging with the newly established transitional governance structures for Gaza," the European External Action Service wrote in a document circulated to member states on Tuesday.

"The EU is also exploring possible support to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza," it added.

European foreign ministers will discuss the situation in Gaza during a meeting in Brussels on February 23.


Israel Military Says Soldier Killed in Gaza 

A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)
A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)
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Israel Military Says Soldier Killed in Gaza 

A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)
A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)

The Israeli military announced that one of its soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Gaza on Wednesday, but a security source said the death appeared to have been caused by "friendly fire".

"Staff Sergeant Ofri Yafe, aged 21, from HaYogev, a soldier in the Paratroopers Reconnaissance Unit, fell during combat in the southern Gaza Strip," the military said in a statement.

A security source, however, told AFP that the soldier appeared to have been "killed by friendly fire", without providing further details.

"The incident is still under investigation," the source added.

The death brings to five the number of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza since a ceasefire took effect on October 10.


Syria: SDF’s Mazloum Abdi Says Implementation of Integration Deal May Take Time

People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
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Syria: SDF’s Mazloum Abdi Says Implementation of Integration Deal May Take Time

People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman

Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, said the process of merging the SDF with Syrian government forces “may take some time,” despite expressing confidence in the eventual success of the agreement.

His remarks came after earlier comments in which he acknowledged differences with Damascus over the concept of “decentralization.”

Speaking at a tribal conference in the northeastern city of Hasakah on Tuesday, Abdi said the issue of integration would not be resolved quickly, but stressed that the agreement remains on track.

He said the deal reached last month stipulates that three Syrian army brigades will be created out of the SDF.

Abdi added that all SDF military units have withdrawn to their barracks in an effort to preserve stability and continue implementing the announced integration agreement with the Syrian state.

He also emphasized the need for armed forces to withdraw from the vicinity of the city of Ayn al-Arab (Kobani), to be replaced by security forces tasked with maintaining order.