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.



Abbas Urges Hamas to Stop Giving Israel ‘Excuses’ in Gaza

A camp for internally displaced Palestinians, which was set up by the HHO Foundation in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 08 April 2025. (EPA)
A camp for internally displaced Palestinians, which was set up by the HHO Foundation in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 08 April 2025. (EPA)
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Abbas Urges Hamas to Stop Giving Israel ‘Excuses’ in Gaza

A camp for internally displaced Palestinians, which was set up by the HHO Foundation in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 08 April 2025. (EPA)
A camp for internally displaced Palestinians, which was set up by the HHO Foundation in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 08 April 2025. (EPA)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the Hamas group Tuesday to stop giving Israel "excuses" to keep up its devastating offensive in Gaza.

Israel resumed major strikes on the Gaza Strip on March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire with Hamas. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Tuesday that 58 people had been killed in the previous 24 hours.

In a statement, the Ramallah-based Palestinian presidency called on Hamas to "cease making any irresponsible decisions to spare our people the consequences of (the Israeli) aggression".

The statement pointed to the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza. "Stop giving the occupation any excuses to continue its genocide," it said.

It called on Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, to "adhere to the official Palestinian position and the Arab initiatives".

French President Emmanuel Macron met with King Abdullah II of Jordan and President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi of Egypt in Cairo Monday, where they called for Abbas's Palestinian Authority to rule Gaza after a ceasefire, and for Hamas to have no role in post-war governance.

The Palestinian Authority is dominated by Abbas's Fatah movement, Hamas's longtime rival.

At their Cairo meeting, the three leaders called for an "immediate return" to the two-month ceasefire that effectively ended in March.

In its statement, the Palestinian presidency also denounced a newly established Israeli corridor in south Gaza as a violation of international law.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the creation of the Morag axis between the south Gaza cities of Khan Younis and Rafah last week.

He presented the axis as a new Philadelphi Corridor, a strip of land along the Palestinian side of the border with Egypt that the Israeli army has already cleared of buildings.

Witnesses told AFP Tuesday that Israeli forces were present on the axis, and had set up a surveillance crane equipped with a machine gun at one of its crossroads.