Yemeni National Army Seizes Khawkhah, Militias Recruit Reinforcements in Sana’a

A Houthi militiaman at a checkpoint in Sanaa (Reuters)
A Houthi militiaman at a checkpoint in Sanaa (Reuters)
TT

Yemeni National Army Seizes Khawkhah, Militias Recruit Reinforcements in Sana’a

A Houthi militiaman at a checkpoint in Sanaa (Reuters)
A Houthi militiaman at a checkpoint in Sanaa (Reuters)

Yemeni government forces have confirmed the seizure of Al Khawkhah, in Hodeida, and regaining the control over Abu Musa Ashaari camp, following conflicts with Houthis.

The Yemeni National Army, supported by the Saudi-led Coalition, achieved a strategic victory in the western coastal front in its launched operation to restore Hodeida and its port from insurgent Houthis -- the operation falls under the legit government comprehensive battle to liberate Yemen from the Iran-allied groups.

Official Yemeni military spokesman Abdo Majali stated to Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that the legit forces, backed with the Saudi-led Coalition air-cover, accomplished decisive and significant victories in liberating Khawkhah, after al-Jahili, al-Ruwais and Moushej during the past days.

The seizure of Khawkhah, which entails Abu Musa Ashaari camp that can assimilate more than 40,000 fighters, paves the safe road towards Hodeida, according to military sources.

“The Yemeni National Army is rapidly advancing after fringing the Iranian militias that fled due to the army strikes and the coalition airstrikes on Hays and al-Jarahi. The operation will continue until fully liberating Hodeida and its strategic port,” declared Majali.

Yemeni news agency SABA reported that Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi carried out a phone call with Commander of Khawkhah Ahmed al-Kawkabani to be briefed on the updates and general condition in the battle field. Yemeni President commended efforts of soldiers and officers who are conducting a battle of dignity, backed by the Saudi-led Coalition.

In the same context, official in Houthis militia Radwan Salah along with four of his companions were reported killed, according to army sources in Taiz.

The legit government and pro-forces seek to expand the scope of military operations against Houthis, exploiting the rage against the militia after it turned against its ally former president Ali Saleh and executed him with dozens of officials from his party and from the Yemeni Republican Guard.

Eye witnesses reported that Houthis moved on with their military reinforcements in Sana’a, due to concerns from the rage following the death of Saleh along with other executions. For that, Prime Minister Ahmed Obaid bin Dagher urged governors of liberated provinces to receive displaced leaders and members of General People's Congress (GPC) who are part of the national revolution against the Houthis.



With Nowhere Else to Hide, Gazans Shelter in Former Prison

24 July 2024, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Displaced Palestinians stay in Asda prison in Khan Younis after the Israeli army ordered them to leave their homes in the towns of Abasan, Bani Suhaila, Ma'an, Al-Zana and a number of other villages, amid Israel-Hamas conflict. (dpa)
24 July 2024, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Displaced Palestinians stay in Asda prison in Khan Younis after the Israeli army ordered them to leave their homes in the towns of Abasan, Bani Suhaila, Ma'an, Al-Zana and a number of other villages, amid Israel-Hamas conflict. (dpa)
TT

With Nowhere Else to Hide, Gazans Shelter in Former Prison

24 July 2024, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Displaced Palestinians stay in Asda prison in Khan Younis after the Israeli army ordered them to leave their homes in the towns of Abasan, Bani Suhaila, Ma'an, Al-Zana and a number of other villages, amid Israel-Hamas conflict. (dpa)
24 July 2024, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Displaced Palestinians stay in Asda prison in Khan Younis after the Israeli army ordered them to leave their homes in the towns of Abasan, Bani Suhaila, Ma'an, Al-Zana and a number of other villages, amid Israel-Hamas conflict. (dpa)

After weeks of Israeli bombardment left them with nowhere else to go, hundreds of Palestinians have ended up in a former Gaza prison built to hold murderers and thieves.

Yasmeen al-Dardasi said she and her family passed wounded people they were unable to help as they evacuated from a district in the southern city of Khan Younis towards its Central Correction and Rehabilitation Facility.

They spent a day under a tree before moving on to the former prison, where they now live in a prayer room. It offers protection from the blistering sun, but not much else.

Dardasi's husband has a damaged kidney and just one lung, but no mattress or blanket.

"We are not settled here either," said Dardasi, who like many Palestinians fears she will be uprooted once again.

Israel has said it goes out of its way to protect civilians in its war with the Palestinian group Hamas, which runs Gaza and led the attack on Israel on Oct. 7 that sparked the latest conflict.

Palestinians, many of whom have been displaced several times, say nowhere is free of Israeli bombardment, which has reduced much of Gaza to rubble.

An Israeli air strike killed at least 90 Palestinians in a designated humanitarian zone in the Al-Mawasi area on July 13, the territory's health ministry said, in an attack that Israel said targeted Hamas' elusive military chief Mohammed Deif.

On Thursday, Gaza's health ministry said Israeli military strikes on areas in eastern Khan Younis had killed 14 people.

Entire neighborhoods have been flattened in one of the most densely populated places in the world, where poverty and unemployment have long been widespread.

According to the United Nations, nine in ten people across Gaza are now internally displaced.

Israeli soldiers told Saria Abu Mustafa and her family that they should flee for safety as tanks were on their way, she said. The family had no time to change so they left in their prayer clothes.

After sleeping outside on sandy ground, they too found refuge in the prison, among piles of rubble and gaping holes in buildings from the battles which were fought there. Inmates had been released long before Israel attacked.

"We didn't take anything with us. We came here on foot, with children walking with us," she said, adding that many of the women had five or six children with them and that water was hard to find.

She held her niece, who was born during the conflict, which has killed her father and brothers.

When Hamas-led gunmen burst into southern Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7 they killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 people hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

More than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed in the air and ground offensive Israel launched in response, Palestinian health officials say.

Hana Al-Sayed Abu Mustafa arrived at the prison after being displaced six times.

If Egyptian, US and Qatari mediators fail to secure a ceasefire they have long said is close, she and other Palestinians may be on the move once again. "Where should we go? All the places that we go to are dangerous," she said.