Houthis Target Marib Mosque, Govt Denounces Attack Against Mills

Houthi militiamen at an armed gathering in Sanaa | EPA
Houthi militiamen at an armed gathering in Sanaa | EPA
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Houthis Target Marib Mosque, Govt Denounces Attack Against Mills

Houthi militiamen at an armed gathering in Sanaa | EPA
Houthi militiamen at an armed gathering in Sanaa | EPA

Houthi militias on Friday fired a ballistic missile at a mosque in the Yemeni Marib governorate, killing and injuring 20 people during dawn prayers, military sources reported.

This coincided with Houthis stepping up their attacks against western Hodeidah governorate and targeting wheat mills there.

Local sources confirmed that the Houthi missile had hit a mosque inside the military camp of pro-government special forces in Marib. The attack is perceived as a desperate Houthi attempt to balance losses sustained on multiple battlefronts, especially those incurred in the vicinity of Marib.

Sources predicted that the number of victims killed by the missile will rise due to the critical injuries recorded.

An official statistic released last July revealed that the number of victims of Houthi attacks in Marib alone reached 700 deaths and injuries. The cases included women and children.

Covering the time period between April 2015 and July 2020, the statistic recorded 244 rocket attacks that killed and injured 689 Yemenis, 92 of which were children and women.

Caretaker Information Minister Muammar al-Eryani denounced the militias' attack against Red Sea mills.

“We strongly condemn the targeting of Iran-backed Houthi militia to the Red Sea mills, in Hodeidah, with artillery shelling, resulted in severe damage to the buildings of the mills, which are one of the most important development projects and pillars of the national economy,” Eryani tweeted.

Eryani, in an official statement, described that the Houthi attack against the mills constitutes a flagrant challenge to the international community and the UN, and further proves the Iran-backed militia’s lack of commitment to treaties.

He added that the attack is an escalation on behalf of the Houthis and aims to worsen an already bad situation in Hodeidah.

Eryani urged the UN chief, the UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths, and the Head of the United Nations Mission in support of the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA) Lieutenant General (retired) Abhijit Guha to shoulder their responsibility and condemn the Houthi-committed atrocity.



US, Arab Mediators Make Some Progress in Gaza Peace Talks, No Deal Yet

Palestinians inspect damaged residential buildings where two Israeli hostages were reportedly held before being rescued during an operation by Israeli security forces in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on Feb. 12, 2024. (AP)
Palestinians inspect damaged residential buildings where two Israeli hostages were reportedly held before being rescued during an operation by Israeli security forces in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on Feb. 12, 2024. (AP)
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US, Arab Mediators Make Some Progress in Gaza Peace Talks, No Deal Yet

Palestinians inspect damaged residential buildings where two Israeli hostages were reportedly held before being rescued during an operation by Israeli security forces in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on Feb. 12, 2024. (AP)
Palestinians inspect damaged residential buildings where two Israeli hostages were reportedly held before being rescued during an operation by Israeli security forces in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on Feb. 12, 2024. (AP)

US and Arab mediators have made some progress in their efforts to reach a ceasefire accord between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, but not enough to seal a deal, Palestinian sources close to the talks said on Thursday.
As talks continued in Qatar, the Israeli military carried out strikes across the enclave, killing at least 17 people, Palestinian medics said.
Qatar, the US and Egypt are making a major push to reach a deal to halt fighting in the 15-month conflict and free remaining hostages held by the Hamas group before President Joe Biden leaves office.
President-elect Donald Trump has warned there will be "hell to pay", if the hostages are not released by his inauguration on Jan. 20.
On Thursday, a Palestinian official close to the mediation effort said the absence of a deal so far did not mean the talks were going nowhere and said this was the most serious attempt so far to reach an accord.
"There are extensive negotiations, mediators and negotiators are talking about every word and every detail. There is a breakthrough when it comes to narrowing old existing gaps but there is no deal yet," he told Reuters, without giving further details.
On Tuesday, Israeli Foreign Ministry Director General Eden Bar-Tal said Israel was fully committed to reaching an agreement to return its hostages from Gaza but faces obstruction from Hamas.
The two sides have been at an impasse for a year over two key issues. Hamas has said it will only free its remaining hostages if Israel agrees to end the war and withdraw all its troops from Gaza. Israel says it will not end the war until Hamas is dismantled and all hostages are free.
SEVERE HUMANITARIAN CRISIS
On Thursday, the death toll from Israel's military strikes included eight Palestinians killed in a house in Jabalia, the largest of Gaza's eight historic refugee camps, where Israeli forces have operated for more than three months. Nine others, including a father and his three children, died in two separate airstrikes on two houses in central Gaza Strip, health officials said.
There was no Israeli military comment on the two incidents.
More than 46,000 people have been killed in the Gaza war, according to Palestinian health officials. Much of the enclave has been laid waste and most of the territory's 2.1 million people have been displaced multiple times and face acute shortages of food and medicine, humanitarian agencies say.
Israel denies hindering humanitarian relief to Gaza and says it has facilitated the distribution of hundreds of truckloads of food, water, medical supplies and shelter equipment to warehouses and shelters over the past week.
Israel launched its assault on Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and capturing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. On Wednesday, the Israeli military said troops had recovered the body of Israeli Bedouin hostage Youssef Al-Ziyadna, along with evidence that was still being examined suggesting his son Hamza, taken on the same day, may also be dead.
"We will continue to make every effort to return all of our hostages, the living and the deceased," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.