Houthis Step up Assaults Despite Int’l Condemnation

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaks during a virtual meeting at the State Department in Washington, February 26, 2021. (AP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaks during a virtual meeting at the State Department in Washington, February 26, 2021. (AP)
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Houthis Step up Assaults Despite Int’l Condemnation

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaks during a virtual meeting at the State Department in Washington, February 26, 2021. (AP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaks during a virtual meeting at the State Department in Washington, February 26, 2021. (AP)

Worldwide condemnation and the US Biden administration revoking the Houthis terrorist label have failed in curbing the Iran-backed group’s persistent violence against civilians in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

Houthis continue to violate international norms and laws.

Recent days have witnessed an increase in the frequency of Houthi assaults against civilian targets in Saudi Arabia.

Despite the Saudi-led Arab Coalition forces maintaining vigilance in confronting Houthi missiles and drones, shrapnel from some intercepted projectiles have hit civilian homes in Riyadh and villages in the Jazan region.

The attacks injured a number of civilians and damaged public and private property.

Over the course of the last weeks, Houthi militias launched daily attacks against Saudi Arabia. The group fired cross-border drones and missiles, disregarding international laws and covenants.

States and organizations from all over the world have urged swift and decisive action to end repeated terrorist attacks targeting vital and civilian facilities and threatening the stability of Saudi Arabia.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called on Iran-aligned Houthi coupists to cease hostilities and assaults against Yemen’s oil rich Marib governorate and cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia.

Blinken confirmed that Saudi Arabia and the internationally recognized Yemeni government are “committed and eager” to find a way to end the war in Yemen and called on the Houthi group to do the same.

“The necessary first step is to stop their offensive against Marib, a city where a million internally displaced people live, and to join the Saudis and the government in Yemen in making constructive moves towards peace,” he said.

Despite international and UN efforts to broker peace in war-torn Yemen, Houthis have continued to block any serious attempts for achieving a ceasefire and rebooting political talks, Information Ministry Undersecretary Naguib Ghallab told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The group has also disregarded concessions made by the Yemeni government and used negotiations to buy time and advance their war agenda, he added.

According to Ghallab, Houthis have shown no commitment to finding a political solution for conflict in Yemen.



US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
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US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)

The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel," Biden said in the memo.

"While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States."

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a "support front" with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel's military assault in Gaza.

The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.