Yemeni Forces Push Toward Hodeidah, Liberate Areas in Dhale

Hodeidah port's cranes are pictured from a nearby shantytown in Hodeidah, Yemen June 16, 2018. (File Photo: Reuters)
Hodeidah port's cranes are pictured from a nearby shantytown in Hodeidah, Yemen June 16, 2018. (File Photo: Reuters)
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Yemeni Forces Push Toward Hodeidah, Liberate Areas in Dhale

Hodeidah port's cranes are pictured from a nearby shantytown in Hodeidah, Yemen June 16, 2018. (File Photo: Reuters)
Hodeidah port's cranes are pictured from a nearby shantytown in Hodeidah, Yemen June 16, 2018. (File Photo: Reuters)

The Yemeni National Army continued its pressure on Houthi militias on a number of fronts, especially in Marran, Saada, the militias’ main stronghold, the coastal city of Hodeidah on the west, and Dhale province in the south.

Pro-government forces said Wednesday they had advanced closer to the insurgent-held port city of Hodeidah after fierce battles that have killed nearly 200 fighters in the past week.

Eyewitnesses told Asharq Al-Awsat that the army was targeting dozens of snipers deployed by Houthi leaders on rooftops and government facilities, including Saleh and al-Eesi cities and the Yemeni Company for Dairy and Food Products Manufacturing.

According to the eyewitnesses, battles renewed near Saleh and advanced to al-Khamseen street and near Hodeidah University behind Tihama Development Authority, as Houthi militias bombed liberated areas and villages east and south of Hodeidah and the West Coast.

Meanwhile, the army’s Amaleqa Brigades issued a statement announcing it has managed to blockade dozens of Houthi snipers on buildings, institutions and public facilities rooftops in uninhabited residential cities.

Amaleqa will continue its incursion towards Hodeidah to liberate it from the control of Iranian-backed Houthi militias, the Brigades asserted in a brief statement published by its media center.

The Brigades also announced it targeted a Houthi gathering using a thermal missile in a position around the city, killing four and injuring several others.

Meanwhile, al-Arabiya television reported that "an explosion took place in a Houthi arms depot near Hodeidah."

In Taiz, clashes re-erupted as the army advanced in rural Haifan front. A military source told Asharq Al-Awsat that "the National Army forces liberated Dheban and Harat-Manzara mountains in al-Aboos, Haifan” and other areas. The source said that over 20 insurgents were killed and injured, indicating that battles were still ongoing in Harat area.

In Dhale, south of Yemen, the National Army forces continued to advance towards Damt.

"The National Army forces managed (Tuesday morning) to liberate al-Haqeb fort overlooking Damt, following fierce clashes with the militia stationed in the fort and city entrances of Khab region,” a website for the National Army quoted a field source as saying.

The battles, which continued until Tuesday noon, resulted in the death and injury of a number of militants, while the army captured two militias snipers.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Ahmed al-Misri lauded the great victories achieved by the army on the fronts of Damt and Maris in Dhale.

This came during a meeting with Dahle governor, Major General Ali Moqbel Saleh, who briefed him on the latest security and military developments in the province.

Misri indicated that these victories were proof that these militias will soon be defeated, calling on citizens of Dhale to "stand together in the face of the Iranian insurgency project."

In the meantime, the National Army announced the liberation of new sites in al-Malajem directorate, in Bayda governorate.

The Army Media Center quoted the commander of the 19th Infantry Brigade, Brigadier General Ali Al-Kalibi, as saying that "Army forces on Malajem front were able to liberate Majzaa area on the west of al-Dayr strategic mountain range.”

Kalibi announced that more than eight Houthi militants were killed and others wounded during the battles.

Furthermore, as part of the military operation to liberate Saada, the National Army forces made new progress and advanced towards Razih province in the north.

National Army website "September.Net" quoted a field source in the 7th Brigade of the coast guard as saying that the forces have liberated al-Azhour and Muateq Luqman mountain as well as al-Thaher village.

Fighters of the Coalition to Support Legitimacy targeted several militia positions and reinforcements, while clashes left several militants dead and injured.



Israeli Army: Hezbollah Disarmament Needs Full Occupation of Lebanon

An Israeli military truck transports a tank in the Upper Galilee in northern Israel near the Lebanese border (AFP)
An Israeli military truck transports a tank in the Upper Galilee in northern Israel near the Lebanese border (AFP)
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Israeli Army: Hezbollah Disarmament Needs Full Occupation of Lebanon

An Israeli military truck transports a tank in the Upper Galilee in northern Israel near the Lebanese border (AFP)
An Israeli military truck transports a tank in the Upper Galilee in northern Israel near the Lebanese border (AFP)

A senior Israeli military commander said on Friday that disarming Hezbollah was not part of the current war objectives, and that the army’s plan instead focused on razing entire villages in southern Lebanon and forcibly displacing residents to create a buffer zone imposing a new border reality.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said the war aimed to achieve what he called the “top objective” of disarming Hezbollah and that the government remained committed to it.

The spokesperson for the Israeli army later walked back the commander’s remarks, saying the military remained committed to the long-term goal of disarming Hezbollah through a broad, gradual effort.

The current operation weakens Hezbollah and will contribute to its disarmament over time, the spokesperson noted.

A military source said Israel would act if the Lebanese government failed to disarm the group, adding that Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem was within the scope of Israeli assassination plans.

Former general Yom-Tov Samia said dismantling Hezbollah would require targeting the Lebanese state itself, including its infrastructure, to pressure the public against the group.

Despite the clarification, the initial remarks continued to reverberate. Military analysts and reserve generals said they reflected a blunt reality: the current war cannot destroy Hezbollah.

They said such a goal would require full occupation of Lebanon and sweeping searches across all towns and villages, which would exceed the scope of the current operation.

Amid the visible rift, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu postponed a cabinet meeting scheduled for Friday, replacing it with limited consultations before rescheduling it for Saturday evening.

A military source said the army would present a plan to the cabinet to completely destroy Lebanese border villages and establish a depopulated security zone, barring residents from returning to areas along what Israel calls the “contact line,” with 20 Christian villages exempted.

The army says Hezbollah has tried over the past year to rebuild its infrastructure along the border. It proposes turning a 3-4 km strip into a forward defensive zone.

The plan calls for the total destruction of dozens of villages near Israeli towns, from Kfarkela opposite Metula to Naqoura opposite Shlomi, including the demolition of all infrastructure and a permanent ban on residents returning.

The military says the plan has received legal approvals, arguing that villages used by Hezbollah constitute “incriminated” infrastructure and that their existence would enable the group to rebuild in the future.

It added that after a November 2024 ceasefire, Hezbollah fighters returned to border villages and attempted to rebuild underground infrastructure and deploy weapons not previously detected.

The army said it would be impossible after the current operation to revert to the existing border, as Hezbollah would return, requiring a new line.

The proposed model mirrors what the army calls the “yellow line” in the Gaza Strip, a 2-4 km strip cleared of locals and controlled by Israeli forces with forward positions.

A senior Israeli officer said the plan differs from Israel’s past security zone in southern Lebanon, stressing that civilians would not be allowed to return.

The officer acknowledged that setting Hezbollah’s disarmament as a war goal had been “overly ambitious,” saying current constraints, including a prolonged war and the need to focus on Iran, prevent making it an immediate objective.

 


Israel Says Striking Hezbollah Sites in Beirut after Destroying Bridge

File photo of a bridge destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in Dalfy, Lebanon on March 26, 2026. Stringer, Reuters
File photo of a bridge destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in Dalfy, Lebanon on March 26, 2026. Stringer, Reuters
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Israel Says Striking Hezbollah Sites in Beirut after Destroying Bridge

File photo of a bridge destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in Dalfy, Lebanon on March 26, 2026. Stringer, Reuters
File photo of a bridge destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in Dalfy, Lebanon on March 26, 2026. Stringer, Reuters

The Israeli military said Saturday it had begun striking "Hezbollah infrastructure" in Beirut after it destroyed a bridge in eastern Lebanon to prevent the Iran-backed group's reinforcements from crossing.

An AFP journalist heard two loud explosions in the capital within half an hour early Saturday and saw smoke billowing from one of them, said AFP.

Local media reported two strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, a locality that has been a target of Israeli strikes in recent days as the military presses on with its ground invasion in the country's south.

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2 when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel to avenge the US-Israeli attack that killed Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

On Friday, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said a blast at one of its positions in the country's south near the border wounded three peacekeepers, the third similar incident in days.

Israel's military had warned that it would target two adjacent bridges over the Litani River in the area "to prevent the transfer of reinforcements and military equipment".

The Lebanese state-run National News Agency (NNA) said: "Israeli warplanes targeted the bridge that links Sohmor with Mashghara, leading to its destruction."

Lebanese local media reported that a second bridge was also hit.

The strikes in Sohmor continued into early Saturday, with the NNA reporting the town's center being hit twice as warplanes roared in the skies.

Israel has previously struck five other bridges over the Litani in the country's south, including most of the main routes crossing the waterway.

The river runs around 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the Israeli border, an area where Israel has said it wants to maintain "security control".

Also in Sohmor, two people were killed and 15 wounded in an Israeli strike that hit "as worshippers were leaving the town's mosque" after Friday prayers, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

Lebanese authorities say more than 1,300 people have been killed in a month of hostilities.

- 'No longer afraid' -

UNIFIL spokesperson Kandice Ardiel said an explosion inside a UN position injured three peacekeepers, adding that the origin was unknown.

Israel's army accused Hezbollah of launching a rocket that hit the post.

On the edge of the southern suburbs of Beirut, Christians marked Good Friday in Shiyah with a procession around Saint Maroun Church.

Resident Hala Farah, 62, said she had never before missed the religious rites, even during repeated conflicts in the country.

"We're always here, we have to hold on for the future of our children," she told AFP at the entrance to the overflowing church.

Another worshipper, Patricia Haddad, 32, said she was no longer afraid of the bombardments.

"We got used to it, unfortunately," she said.

Israel's army has said it has struck more than 3,500 targets across Lebanon since last month, while Hezbollah said it had carried out 1,309 operations against Israeli targets.

On Sunday, an Indonesian peacekeeper was killed when a projectile exploded in a UNIFIL position, while another blast the following day killed two more Indonesian troops.

According to the UN, 97 force members have been killed in violence since UNIFIL was first established to monitor the withdrawal of Israeli forces after they invaded Lebanon in 1978.

The force's mandate expires at the end of this year.


US Embassy in Beirut Warns of Possible Iran Threat to Universities in Lebanon

People walk past the main gate to the campus of the American University of Beirut (AUB) in the center of Beirut on January 13, 2022. (AFP)
People walk past the main gate to the campus of the American University of Beirut (AUB) in the center of Beirut on January 13, 2022. (AFP)
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US Embassy in Beirut Warns of Possible Iran Threat to Universities in Lebanon

People walk past the main gate to the campus of the American University of Beirut (AUB) in the center of Beirut on January 13, 2022. (AFP)
People walk past the main gate to the campus of the American University of Beirut (AUB) in the center of Beirut on January 13, 2022. (AFP)

The US embassy in Beirut said on ‌Friday ‌that Iran ‌and ⁠its aligned armed ⁠groups "may intend to target ⁠universities ‌in Lebanon".

In ‌a security ‌alert, ‌the embassy also ‌urged US citizens to depart ⁠Lebanon "while ⁠commercial flight options remain available".

Lebanon was dragged into the conflict in the Middle East when Iran-backed Hezbollah shot rockets at Israel in retaliation to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei at the beginning of the war.

Over the past 24 hours, Israeli strikes killed 23 people and wounded 98, the Lebanese health ministry said Friday.

The ministry said that the overall death toll includes 125 children and 91 women, since Israel launched intense airstrikes across Lebanon after the Hezbollah fired rockets toward northern Israel in solidarity with Iran on March 2. The strikes have also wounded 4,138 others.

Among those killed are 53 health workers, while Israeli strikes have targeted 83 emergency medical service facilities, the health ministry said.