Yemen Seeks European Pressure to End Houthi Aggression

Yemen's Foreign Minister Ahmed bin Mubarak with Norwegian counterpart Eni Eriksson (Saba News)
Yemen's Foreign Minister Ahmed bin Mubarak with Norwegian counterpart Eni Eriksson (Saba News)
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Yemen Seeks European Pressure to End Houthi Aggression

Yemen's Foreign Minister Ahmed bin Mubarak with Norwegian counterpart Eni Eriksson (Saba News)
Yemen's Foreign Minister Ahmed bin Mubarak with Norwegian counterpart Eni Eriksson (Saba News)

Yemen's Foreign Minister Ahmed bin Mubarak started a new round of meetings with European officials to discuss the peace process and efforts to end the war in the country.

The Minister arrived in Oslo, where he discussed with his Norwegian counterpart Ine Eriksen the path to the peace process in light of the Houthi militia's continued rejection of all peace and humanitarian efforts.

Bin Mubarak is visiting Norway as his first stop on a tour of Europe, which includes Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland.

He stressed that the government continues to exert all efforts to achieve peace and restore security and stability in the country.

The government fully supports the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations (SESG) Hans Grundberg.

The state-owned Saba news agency reported that the meeting addressed the Houthi ongoing aggression against the Marib governorate, which displaced millions of people.

It also discussed the maritime security in the Red Sea, the militias attacks on transit ships, and the ongoing environmental and humanitarian threat posed by the Safer oil tank.

The Minister said that this tour comes within the efforts to inform international partners of the Yemeni developments and discuss the repercussions of the Houthi coup militias' continued rejection of all peace efforts and initiatives.

It also aims to clarify the government's vision to stop the war and achieve peace, restore security and stability, and mitigate the humanitarian repercussions of the war waged by the Houthi militias.

Meanwhile, militia leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi pledged to continue fighting for control of all Yemeni regions.

During a televised speech, Houthi asserted that the group would continue to fight until it "liberates the entire country."

Meanwhile, military sources reported that the Houthi militia intensified its attacks on Arhaba district, south of Marib.

Local sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that several civilians were killed in the Houthi attacks.

The Ministry of Legal Affairs and Human Rights issued a statement condemning the targeting of civilians, dozens of whom were forced to leave their areas.

The Ministry denounced Houthi militia's "recurrent barbaric military attacks against the armless civilians of Arhaba district, who have been subjected to shelling by different weapons including ballistic missiles and laden-explosive drones."

In a press release carried by Saba news, the Ministry reported that Iran-backed Houthi militiamen frequently attacked the powerless civilians, forced them to flee their own houses and areas for their lives.

It condemned Houthis for avenging the peoples of Arhaba, forcing them either to fight their fellows or face the consequences.

The Ministry called on the UN, UNHCR, Human Rights Council, and every organization interested in protecting human rights to pressure the Houthi militia to stop its military aggression against Arhaba and Marib.

The statement also called on humanitarian aid organizations to urgently provide emergency aid to the afflicted, the displaced, and those fleeing the war. The number of displaced families in the past two days alone reached nearly 150 families.



Israel Permits 10,000 West Bank Palestinians for Friday Prayers at Al Aqsa

Palestinians attend Friday prayers in a mosque following an attack that local Palestinians said was carried out by Israeli settlers, in the village of Deir Istiya near Salfit in the Israeli-occupied West Bank November 14, 2025. REUTERS/Sinan Abu Mayzer
Palestinians attend Friday prayers in a mosque following an attack that local Palestinians said was carried out by Israeli settlers, in the village of Deir Istiya near Salfit in the Israeli-occupied West Bank November 14, 2025. REUTERS/Sinan Abu Mayzer
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Israel Permits 10,000 West Bank Palestinians for Friday Prayers at Al Aqsa

Palestinians attend Friday prayers in a mosque following an attack that local Palestinians said was carried out by Israeli settlers, in the village of Deir Istiya near Salfit in the Israeli-occupied West Bank November 14, 2025. REUTERS/Sinan Abu Mayzer
Palestinians attend Friday prayers in a mosque following an attack that local Palestinians said was carried out by Israeli settlers, in the village of Deir Istiya near Salfit in the Israeli-occupied West Bank November 14, 2025. REUTERS/Sinan Abu Mayzer

Israel announced that it will cap the number of Palestinian worshippers from the occupied West Bank attending weekly Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in east Jerusalem at 10,000 during the holy month of Ramadan, which began Wednesday.

Israeli authorities also imposed age restrictions on West Bank Palestinians, permitting entry only to men aged 55 and older, women aged 50 and older, and children up to age 12.

"Ten thousand Palestinian worshippers will be permitted to enter the Temple Mount for Friday prayers throughout the month of Ramadan, subject to obtaining a dedicated daily permit in advance," COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry agency in charge of civilian matters in the Palestinian territories, said in a statement, AFP reported.

"Entry for men will be permitted from age 55, for women from age 50, and for children up to age 12 when accompanied by a first-degree relative."

COGAT told AFP that the restrictions apply only to Palestinians travelling from the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

"It is emphasised that all permits are conditional upon prior security approval by the relevant security authorities," COGAT said.

"In addition, residents travelling to prayers at the Temple Mount will be required to undergo digital documentation at the crossings upon their return to the areas of Judea and Samaria at the conclusion of the prayer day," it said, using the Biblical term for the West Bank.

During Ramadan, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians traditionally attend prayers at Al-Aqsa, Islam's third holiest site, located in east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in 1967 and later annexed in a move that is not internationally recognized.

Since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023, the attendance of worshippers has declined due to security concerns and Israeli restrictions.

The Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate said this week that Israeli authorities had prevented the Islamic Waqf -- the Jordanian-run body that administers the site -- from carrying out routine preparations ahead of Ramadan, including installing shade structures and setting up temporary medical clinics.

A senior imam of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Muhammad al-Abbasi, told AFP that he, too, had been barred from entering the compound.

"I have been barred from the mosque for a week, and the order can be renewed," he said.

Abbasi said he was not informed of the reason for the ban, which came into effect on Monday.

Under longstanding arrangements, Jews may visit the Al-Aqsa compound -- which they revere as the site of the first and second Jewish temples -- but they are not permitted to pray there.

Israel says it is committed to upholding this status quo, though Palestinians fear it is being eroded.

In recent years, a growing number of Jewish ultranationalists have challenged the prayer ban, including far-right politician Itamar Ben Gvir, who prayed at the site while serving as national security minister in 2024 and 2025.


EU Exploring Support for New Gaza Administration Committee, Document Says

Palestinians push a cart past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the two-year Israeli offensives, in Gaza City, February 17, 2026. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Palestinians push a cart past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the two-year Israeli offensives, in Gaza City, February 17, 2026. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
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EU Exploring Support for New Gaza Administration Committee, Document Says

Palestinians push a cart past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the two-year Israeli offensives, in Gaza City, February 17, 2026. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Palestinians push a cart past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the two-year Israeli offensives, in Gaza City, February 17, 2026. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

The European Union is exploring possible support for a new committee established to take over the civil administration of Gaza, according to a document produced by the bloc's diplomatic arm and seen by Reuters.

"The EU is engaging with the newly established transitional governance structures for Gaza," the European External Action Service wrote in a document circulated to member states on Tuesday.

"The EU is also exploring possible support to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza," it added.

European foreign ministers will discuss the situation in Gaza during a meeting in Brussels on February 23.


Israel Military Says Soldier Killed in Gaza 

A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)
A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)
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Israel Military Says Soldier Killed in Gaza 

A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)
A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)

The Israeli military announced that one of its soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Gaza on Wednesday, but a security source said the death appeared to have been caused by "friendly fire".

"Staff Sergeant Ofri Yafe, aged 21, from HaYogev, a soldier in the Paratroopers Reconnaissance Unit, fell during combat in the southern Gaza Strip," the military said in a statement.

A security source, however, told AFP that the soldier appeared to have been "killed by friendly fire", without providing further details.

"The incident is still under investigation," the source added.

The death brings to five the number of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza since a ceasefire took effect on October 10.