Arab Coalition: Iranian Weapons Seized from Houthis in Yemen

A soldier loyal to Yemen’s government aims a machine gun at a Houthi position in central province of Marib on October 19, 2015. (Reuters)
A soldier loyal to Yemen’s government aims a machine gun at a Houthi position in central province of Marib on October 19, 2015. (Reuters)
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Arab Coalition: Iranian Weapons Seized from Houthis in Yemen

A soldier loyal to Yemen’s government aims a machine gun at a Houthi position in central province of Marib on October 19, 2015. (Reuters)
A soldier loyal to Yemen’s government aims a machine gun at a Houthi position in central province of Marib on October 19, 2015. (Reuters)

The Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen announced on Wednesday that it had seized Iranian-made weapons from Houthi militias.

Spokesman for the coalition Turki al-Maliki announced during a press conference: “We are receiving several contacts over a list of wanted Houthis. We are aware of the movements of the fugitives in Yemen.”

The coalition command welcomed the United Nations Security Council’s condemnation of the Houthis’ launch of a ballistic missile towards Saudi Arabia, adding: “There is a responsibility on some countries that are turning a blind eye to the arms being smuggled to the Houthis.”

To that end, the coalition revealed that a new search and investigation mechanism was put in place to uncover smuggled weapons.

Saudi Arabia announced on December 19 that it had intercepted south of Riyadh a ballistic missile that was fired by the Houthis. No one was injured and no damages were incurred in the incident, which was widely condemned by the international community.

In addition, Maliki revealed that five ships loaded with fuel headed to Yemen’s Hodeidah port this week. The coalition also granted ten permits to allow the passage of aid through land portals.

The alliance continues to provide humanitarian aid to the Yemeni people, he stressed, while saying that some food aid was airdropped in besieged regions.

Moreover, Maliki revealed that the Houthis were expelled from the Shabwa region and “it is now under the control of the legitimate Yemeni government.”

The area is now being swept for mines that the militia left behind, he stated.

Furthermore, he stressed that the national Yemeni army was advancing “strongly” on al-Bayda province.

“The Houthis have lost a lot of their civil leaders and their morale is low,” said the coalition spokesman.

He urged anyone who has information on the Houthi terrorists to come forward, adding that the coalition carried out strikes against 412 Houthi targets, some of which were near the Saudi Arabia border. Other targets included a rocket factory in Saada, weapons caches and Houthi gathering points.



Druze Religious Elders from Syria Make Visit to Israel

 Druze people welcome buses carrying Druze delegation from Syria, as it crosses the ceasefire line between Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Syria and enters Israel on the day of the first visit by a Druze delegation from Syria just after the 1973 war in Israel, in Majdal Shams, in the Golan Heights, March 14, 2025. (Reuters)
Druze people welcome buses carrying Druze delegation from Syria, as it crosses the ceasefire line between Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Syria and enters Israel on the day of the first visit by a Druze delegation from Syria just after the 1973 war in Israel, in Majdal Shams, in the Golan Heights, March 14, 2025. (Reuters)
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Druze Religious Elders from Syria Make Visit to Israel

 Druze people welcome buses carrying Druze delegation from Syria, as it crosses the ceasefire line between Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Syria and enters Israel on the day of the first visit by a Druze delegation from Syria just after the 1973 war in Israel, in Majdal Shams, in the Golan Heights, March 14, 2025. (Reuters)
Druze people welcome buses carrying Druze delegation from Syria, as it crosses the ceasefire line between Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Syria and enters Israel on the day of the first visit by a Druze delegation from Syria just after the 1973 war in Israel, in Majdal Shams, in the Golan Heights, March 14, 2025. (Reuters)

A delegation of Druze religious elders from Syria crossed into Israel on Friday for the first such visit in more than 50 years, underscoring Israel's backing for the community amid growing tensions with the new government in Damascus.

Around 100 Druze sheikhs from villages on the slope of Mount Hermon in Syria, overlooked by the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, are due to visit shrines including sites held to be the tomb of prophet Shuayb, west of Tiberias, in the Lower Galilee.

After entering the Golan Heights, cheered by Druze in traditional black clothes and white and red head dress, some waving the white, blue, yellow, red and green flag of the Druze, they travelled by bus to the town of Julis in Israel to meet Mowafaq Tarif, spiritual leader of the group in Israel.

"Feeling proud and honored to visit here. We are one family and brothers," said Nazeh Rakab, from Hadar in Syria, as he watched the welcome ceremony in Julis, where hundreds gathered to greet the delegation waving Druze flags, with some firing into the air from the rooftops in celebration.

The Druze, an Arab minority who practice a religion originally derived from Islam, live in an area straddling Lebanon, Syria, Israel and the Golan Heights, connected across the borders by a web of kinship ties.

In Israel, many serve in the military and police, including during the war in Gaza, and some have reached high rank.

Condemnation

The visit followed an invitation from the Druze community in Israel, according to a source close to the delegation, but has been met with opposition from other Druze in Syria.

The minority accounts for about three percent of Syria's population and are heavily concentrated in the southern province of Sweida.

Other residents of Hadar condemned the trip, saying in a statement that the clerics "represent only themselves".

They accused Israel of "exploiting this religious visit as a tool to sow division" and of "seeking to use the Druze community as a defensive line to achieve its expansionist interests in southern Syria".

Friday's visit is intended to be a purely religious occasion but its political significance was underscored by Israeli airstrikes on what Israel described as command centers of the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad movement in Damascus a day earlier.

Israeli ministers have expressed deep misgivings about the new government of interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, describing his Hayat Tahrir al-Sham movement as an extremist group. The group was formerly affiliated with Al-Qaeda but later renounced the connection.

On Thursday, Israel, which has been urging support for the Druze following the overthrow of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in December, sent truckloads of aid including oil, flour, salt and sugar, most to the Sweida.

Earlier this week, Defense Minister Israel Katz said Syrian Druze would be allowed to enter and work in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 war, and Israel has also said it would protect Druze in Syria if needed.

In early March, following a deadly clash between government-linked forces and Druze fighters in the suburbs of Damascus, Katz said his country would not allow Syria's new rulers "to harm the Druze".

Druze leaders immediately rejected Katz's warning and declared their loyalty to a united Syria.