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Tunisia’s Navy Leads Operations to Avoid Environmental Disaster Off Gabes

Men stand next to a boat on a beach as a military boat is seen in the background off the coast of Gabes, where a merchant fuel ship sank. [Zoubeir Souissi/Reuters]
Men stand next to a boat on a beach as a military boat is seen in the background off the coast of Gabes, where a merchant fuel ship sank. [Zoubeir Souissi/Reuters]
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Tunisia’s Navy Leads Operations to Avoid Environmental Disaster Off Gabes

Men stand next to a boat on a beach as a military boat is seen in the background off the coast of Gabes, where a merchant fuel ship sank. [Zoubeir Souissi/Reuters]
Men stand next to a boat on a beach as a military boat is seen in the background off the coast of Gabes, where a merchant fuel ship sank. [Zoubeir Souissi/Reuters]

A team of divers from the Tunisian navy completed inspecting the hull of a tanker loaded with 750 tons of fuel that sank off southeast Tunisia, the presidency said in a statement on Monday.

It was able to determine the areas that require rapid intervention and ensured the fuel shipment is still sealed, the statement added.

The operation was carried out in cooperation with all relevant authorities, especially the ministries of environment and transportation, as well as local authorities in Gabes.

The statement affirmed that the leaked fuel observed on the surface of the waters off the Tunisian coast came from the engines of the ship that sunk on Friday and was in limited quantity.

Meanwhile, local suspicions are growing about the procrastination in leaving Tunisia’s coast and exposing the ship to sink to obtain compensation from insurance companies.

Former Minister of State Property Mabrouk Kourchid said this ship appeared to be sailing with forged documents after preliminary investigations revealed it does not have a shipping certificate.

Kourchid further pointed that it changed the flag of the African country it raised upon sailing.

“Evidence shows that it is a fuel smuggling operation, and the smugglers sank it.”

He said the Tunisian authorities will be held partly responsible for allowing “a rogue ship without legal documents to enter its territorial waters.”

Meanwhile, Tunisia said some countries have offered to help it prevent damage to the environment.

Italy announced sending two ships, helicopters and an underwater drone to help Tunisia.

The Italian army sent the equipment to monitor and control any oil leakage, Italy’s official news agency reported.

The Equatorial Guinea-flagged Xelo began taking water around seven kilometers (over four miles) offshore in the Gulf of Gabes and the engine room was engulfed, according to a Tunisian environment ministry statement.

Tunisian authorities rescued the seven-member crew, who received first aid and were being accommodated in a hotel.

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Arab World

Al-Alimi to Ambassadors: Houthi Attacks Will Not Go without Consequence

Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad al-Alimi meets with the ambassadors of countries sponsoring the political process in Yemen. (Government media)
Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad al-Alimi meets with the ambassadors of countries sponsoring the political process in Yemen. (Government media)
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Al-Alimi to Ambassadors: Houthi Attacks Will Not Go without Consequence

Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad al-Alimi meets with the ambassadors of countries sponsoring the political process in Yemen. (Government media)
Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad al-Alimi meets with the ambassadors of countries sponsoring the political process in Yemen. (Government media)

Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad al-Alimi said on Monday that the latest escalation by the Iran-backed terrorist Houthi group was a new test to the international community’s commitment to protecting peace in the country.

During a meeting in Riyadh with ambassadors whose countries are sponsoring the peace process in Yemen, he stressed that the legitimate government “did not start the escalation and did not seek it”.

The government “will not allow its commitment to peace to be exploited by the Houthis to launch attacks and then later be confronted with calls for restraint when it chooses to retaliate”, he declared.

Al-Alimi briefed the envoys on the Houthi ballistic missile and drone attacks on al-Mokha port on Yemen’s west coast. He said the attack, which claimed civilian lives including women and children, targeted civilian and services infrastructure, not a military position.

The attack was the latest in a weekslong Houthi escalation that started with the militants’ attempt to operate flights for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps at Sanaa International Airport, he went on to say.

That was followed by the Houthis’ targeting of commercial vessels and civilian locations in neighboring Saudi Arabia, he added.

The government has long been committed to peace, calm and restraint, he said. It facilitated operations at airports and marine ports, as well as the flow of goods. It cooperated with UN and international efforts for peace “despite the political and economic cost”.

“It did so out of its conviction that Yemeni lives are above all else”, al-Alimi stated, while holding the “lax” international position towards Yemen in recent years responsible for the current situation.

The political and field situation has now changed, he went on to say. The Houthis “must realize that the phase of carrying out attacks without consequences is over.”

He called on the international community to assume its responsibility in protecting the international order, starting with civilians and civilian infrastructure, as well as trade ports, respect for sovereignty of nations and rejecting the use of missiles and drones to impose illegitimate political or economic gains.

He warned that silence over the escalation will not help restore calm, but the Houthis may use it to continue their attacks.

He demanded a clear international political position that condemns the Houthis’ targeting of ports and civilians, as well as support for the right of the legitimate government in protecting its people and institutions under international law.

Arab World

Arab League Chief: Israel’s Rejection of Peace Plan Shows Disregard for International Will

Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy attends a joint press conference on the day of the Arab Ministerial Committee meeting to discuss the situation in Jerusalem, in Amman, Jordan, August 5, 2026. (Reuters)
Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy attends a joint press conference on the day of the Arab Ministerial Committee meeting to discuss the situation in Jerusalem, in Amman, Jordan, August 5, 2026. (Reuters)
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Arab League Chief: Israel’s Rejection of Peace Plan Shows Disregard for International Will

Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy attends a joint press conference on the day of the Arab Ministerial Committee meeting to discuss the situation in Jerusalem, in Amman, Jordan, August 5, 2026. (Reuters)
Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy attends a joint press conference on the day of the Arab Ministerial Committee meeting to discuss the situation in Jerusalem, in Amman, Jordan, August 5, 2026. (Reuters)

Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy said statements by the Israeli prime minister rejecting the15-point roadmap to complete implementation of the comprehensive peace plan in Gaza reveal an explicit disregard for international will and the foundations of the peace process.

Fahmy said the Israeli prime minister's insistence that no Palestinian state be established in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank directly undermines prospects for a peaceful settlement and the establishment of a just and comprehensive peace, the Saudi Press Agency said on Monday.

In a statement, Fahmy stressed that continued Israeli violations of the ceasefire, including attacks targeting civilians and medical facilities in the Gaza Strip, constitute a blatant breach of existing obligations and relevant UN resolutions. He welcomed the clear position expressed by the foreign ministers of eight Arab and Islamic countries in their August 6 statement regarding these violations.

He renewed his call for the full and serious implementation of the comprehensive peace plan and for completing the process established by the Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit in October 2025.

Fahmy warned that continued Israeli attempts to impose new realities on the ground in the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank seek to entrench the occupation and expand control over Palestinian territories. He said such attempts undermine the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state and blatantly contradict international law and relevant international legitimacy resolutions.

The secretary-general called on US President Donald Trump and the international community to assume their responsibilities in ensuring the full implementation of the comprehensive peace plan in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2803 of 2025. He also called for pressure on the Israeli government to end its violations and fulfill its obligations in a manner that preserves prospects for a just and lasting settlement.

Arab World

Two Soldiers Killed in Houthi Drone Attack on Yemen’s Marib

The remains of a military projectile are embedded in the ground in the Port of Mokha the day after an attack by the Houthis on the city of Mokha, held by Yemen's legitimate Aden-based government on August 10, 2026. (AFP)
The remains of a military projectile are embedded in the ground in the Port of Mokha the day after an attack by the Houthis on the city of Mokha, held by Yemen's legitimate Aden-based government on August 10, 2026. (AFP)
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Two Soldiers Killed in Houthi Drone Attack on Yemen’s Marib

The remains of a military projectile are embedded in the ground in the Port of Mokha the day after an attack by the Houthis on the city of Mokha, held by Yemen's legitimate Aden-based government on August 10, 2026. (AFP)
The remains of a military projectile are embedded in the ground in the Port of Mokha the day after an attack by the Houthis on the city of Mokha, held by Yemen's legitimate Aden-based government on August 10, 2026. (AFP)

The Iran-backed Houthi group launched on Monday a drone attack on the Harib district in Yemen’s Marib governorate.

Two government soldiers were killed and seven others wounded in the attack, said field military sources. This was the second attack on Harib in days.

The Houthis continued their attacks on government forces, days after their escalation targeting al-Mokha city and its port on Yemen’s west coast, as well as Marib, Hadramawt, and Dhale.

Meanwhile, authorities in the southern and eastern governorates urged vigilance in anticipation of any attack.

Member of the Presidential Leadership Council Sultan Ali al-Aradah stressed the need for vigilance in the al-Mahra governorate and more coordination between military units and security agencies to confront threats.

He met with Chief of the General Staff of the Yemeni Armed Forces Lieutenant General Sagheer Aziz and other military officials, underlining the need to continue the crackdown on Houthi smuggling operations and thwarting their destabilizing activities.

He said al-Mahra was the gateway to eastern Yemen, calling for maintaining its stability, bolstering the presence of state institutions and protecting national interests.

In Hadramawt, PLC member and province governor Salem al-Khanbashi inspected the al-Riyan International Airport, Mukalla port and the al-Dhabba Oil Terminal to check the measures taken to ensure their security.

He chaired a meeting in Mukalla to tackle the level of readiness and emergency plans to confront any possible danger and protect lives.