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Coalition: Houthis Lost Control of more than 444 Sites in 9 Days

Spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki during press conference (SPA)
Spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki during press conference (SPA)
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Coalition: Houthis Lost Control of more than 444 Sites in 9 Days

Spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki during press conference (SPA)
Spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki during press conference (SPA)

Arab Coalition forces in support of legitimacy in Yemen announced that Iran-backed Houthi militias lost control of more than 444 sites, arms and ammunition between December 25, 2017 and January 3.

Furthermore, the coalition announced that 86 ballistic missiles have been fired by Houthis at Saudi Arabia.

The official spokesman for the coalition forces Colonel Turki al-Maliki said that the permits granted to aid agencies and ships since the beginning of the military operations amounted to 17,293 permits, including 2,749 through sea ports and 7,590 for humanitarian and relief assistance coming to Yemen through the airports.

At a press conference at King Salman Air Base in Riyadh, Maliki stated that 37 permits had been granted for humanitarian aid and evacuation operations between December 26, 2017 and January 3, 2018, adding that 3,045 passengers left the Yemeni territories.

Maliki reiterated his rejection of statements made by the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, Jamie McGoldric, urging him to validate the facts concerning the Houthi recruitment of children.

The spokesman presented many video clips that showed a number of military air operations by the coalition forces against sites taken by Houthis to carry out attacks on the Yemeni army and the popular resistance, inside Yemen and on the Yemeni-Saudi border.

He also showed through the videos that the coalition continues to accurately target the Houthis and their arsenal of weapons while avoiding civilians.

Maliki said the Iranian regime seeks to replicate a new model of “Hezbollah” militias in Yemen. He pointed out that the Houthi decision to kill former President Ali Abdullah Saleh came from Iran.

Al-Shabwa province is now liberated, and the coalition is fighting to oust the Houthis from al-Jouf, Maliki indicated.

The spokesman didn't give any information about the whereabouts of Saleh’s nephew, who has reportedly been killed or has reached a safe location following his injury.

Maliki concluded by confirming that the coalition forces still have the superiority on the battlefield inside Yemen and on its border with Saudi Arabia.

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Main Points of the Gaza Ceasefire Proposal

Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City January 13, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City January 13, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
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Main Points of the Gaza Ceasefire Proposal

Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City January 13, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City January 13, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Qatari mediators have sent Israel and Hamas a draft proposal for an agreement to halt the fighting in the Gaza Strip and exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners as a first step towards an end to the 15-month-old war. A week before US President-elect Donald Trump takes over from President Joe Biden, officials said a breakthrough had been achieved in talks in Doha and agreement could be near.

However, many details about the implementation of a ceasefire remain to be agreed, and officials on all sides have said that a deal has not yet been reached.

Here are the main points from the draft, according to an Israeli official and a Palestinian official. Hamas has not provided any details, according to Reuters.

HOSTAGE RETURN

In the first stage, 33 hostages would be set free. These include children, women including female soldiers, men above 50, wounded and sick. Israel believes most are alive but has had no official confirmation from Hamas.

- The first stage would last for several weeks, although the Israeli official said the precise duration had not been settled. The Palestinian official said it would last 60 days.

If it proceeds as planned, on the 16th day from the deal taking effect, negotiations would start on a second stage, with the aim of securing the return of the remaining living hostages - male soldiers and younger civilian males - and the return of the bodies of dead hostages.

- In return for the hostages, Israel will free from its jails a significant number of Palestinian prisoners, including some serving long sentences for deadly attacks, although exactly how many will depend on how many hostages are still alive. The Israeli official said the number would be "many hundreds", while the Palestinian official said it would be more than 1,000.

- Where the prisoners would be sent has not yet been agreed but anyone convicted of murder or deadly attacks would not be released to the West Bank.

- Anyone who took part in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel would not be released.

TROOP WITHDRAWAL

Israel will not fully withdraw its troops until all the hostages have been returned but there will be a phased pull back, with Israeli forces remaining in the border perimeter to defend Israeli border towns and villages.

- There would be security arrangements at the Philadelphi corridor bordering Egypt, along the southern edge of Gaza, with Israel withdrawing from parts of it after the first few days of the deal.

- Unarmed North Gaza residents would be allowed back, with a mechanism to ensure no weapons are moved there. Israeli troops will withdraw from the Netzarim corridor in central Gaza.

- The Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza will start to work gradually, allowing the passage of those who are sick and humanitarian cases out of the enclave for treatment.

INCREASED AID

There would be a significant increase of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, where international bodies including the UN say the population is facing a severe humanitarian crisis.

Israel allows aid into the enclave but there have been disputes over the amount allowed in as well as the amount that reaches people in need, with looting by criminal gangs an increasing problem.

FUTURE GOVERNANCE OF GAZA

Who will run Gaza after the war is one of the unknowns of the negotiations. It appears that the current round of talks left the issue out of the proposal because of its complexity and the likelihood it would hold up a limited deal.

Israel has said it will not end the war leaving Hamas in power. It has also rejected administration of Gaza by the Palestinian Authority, the Western-backed body set up under the Oslo interim peace accords three decades ago that exercises limited sovereignty in the occupied West Bank.

It has also said from the beginning of its military campaign in Gaza that it will retain security control over the enclave after the fighting ends.

The international community has said Gaza must be run by Palestinians, but efforts to find alternatives to the main factions among civil society or clan leaders have proved largely fruitless. However, there have been discussions over a provisional administration that would run Gaza until a reformed Palestinian Authority is able to take charge.