Yemen’s Zubaidi Vows Firm Response to Any Houthi Military Escalation

A file picture of Deputy head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) Aidarous al-Zubaidi. (AFP
A file picture of Deputy head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) Aidarous al-Zubaidi. (AFP
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Yemen’s Zubaidi Vows Firm Response to Any Houthi Military Escalation

A file picture of Deputy head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) Aidarous al-Zubaidi. (AFP
A file picture of Deputy head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) Aidarous al-Zubaidi. (AFP

Deputy head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) Aidarous al-Zubaidi on Thursday threatened to respond firmly to any military escalation by the Iranian-backed Houthi militias.

This comes in the wake of the warring sides’ failure to reach an agreement to extend a nationwide ceasefire, which expired on October 2.

Zubaidi also stressed that the Houthi militias’ political blackmail attempts to obtain additional gains are “unacceptable” and must stop immediately.

He made the remarks during a meeting with Egypt’s non-resident ambassador to Yemen Ahmed Farouk in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Thursday.

He called for adopting a unified and decisive international stance to put an end to the militias’ hostile behavior against peace efforts.

Deputy head of the Presidential Leadership Council, Brigadier General Tariq Saleh, affirmed that the Council seeks to attain peace but is also prepared for war.

This came during his meeting with the presidency of the PLC’s Consultations and Reconciliation Commission to discuss the latest developments and the Commission’s role in bolstering the PLC’s efforts in this regard.

Saleh reiterated that all the discussed matters are due to the wars waged by the Houthis and Iran’s agenda.

He underscored the importance of overcoming their effects and renewed the PLC’s adherence to restore national sovereignty and the country’s constitutional institutions.

He further underlined the need to implement the law, protect the people’s freedoms, rights and resources, including their salaries, and release prisoners, with or without a truce.

Separately, the United Nations Security Council’s Sanctions Committee added three Houthi officials to its sanctions list for their involvement in terrorist activities.

These figures are Ahmad al-Hamzi, Mansour al-Saadi and Mutlaq Amer al-Marani.

According to the Committee, Hamzi, commander of Houthi air and air defense forces, as well as the drone program, has engaged in acts and provided support for acts that threaten the peace, security and stability of Yemen, including violations of the targeted arms embargo.

It explained that Saadi was sanctioned for his role as chief of staff of the Houthi naval forces, who orchestrated deadly attacks against international shipping in the Red Sea.

“He also has a leading role in Houthi naval efforts that threaten direct peace, security and stability in Yemen.”

Marani was also sanctioned for his work as a deputy head of Houthi National Security Bureau (NSB) and supervisor of the national security detainees who were subjected to torture and other ill-treatment during detention.

He also planned and directed the illegal arrest and detention of humanitarian workers in the field and the illegal diversion of humanitarian aid in violation of international law.



Gaza Ceasefire Still Elusive as Negotiators Try to Hammer out Deal

 This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke plumes rising from explosions above destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip on January 14, 2025, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke plumes rising from explosions above destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip on January 14, 2025, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
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Gaza Ceasefire Still Elusive as Negotiators Try to Hammer out Deal

 This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke plumes rising from explosions above destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip on January 14, 2025, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke plumes rising from explosions above destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip on January 14, 2025, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

Negotiators were trying to hammer out the final details of a complex, phased ceasefire in Gaza on Wednesday after marathon talks in Qatar aiming to end a conflict that has inflicted widespread death and destruction and upended the Middle East.

More than eight hours of talks in Doha had fueled optimism. Officials from mediators Qatar, Egypt and the US as well as Israel and Hamas said on Tuesday that an agreement for a truce in the besieged Palestinian enclave and the release of hostages was closer than ever.

But a senior Hamas official told Reuters late on Tuesday that the Palestinian group had not yet delivered its response because it was still waiting for Israel to submit maps showing how its forces would withdraw from Gaza.

During months of on-off talks to achieve a truce in the devastating 15-month-old war, both sides have previously said they were close to a ceasefire only to hit last-minute obstacles. The broad outlines of the current deal have been in place since mid-2024.

If successful, the planned phased ceasefire could halt fighting that has decimated Gaza, killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, displaced most of the enclave's pre-war population of 2.3 million and is still killing dozens of people a day.

That in turn could ease tensions across the wider Middle East, where the war has fueled conflict in the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq, and raised fears of all-out war between Israel and Iran.

Israel launched its assault in Gaza after Hamas-led fighters stormed across its borders on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Since then, Israeli forces have killed more than 46,700 Palestinians in Gaza, according to health officials in the enclave.

Palestinians were once again hoping the latest talks would deliver some relief from Israeli airstrikes, and ease a humanitarian crisis.

"We are waiting for the ceasefire and the truce. May God complete it for us in goodness, bless us with peace, and allow us to return to our homes," said Amal Saleh, 54, a Gazan displaced by the war.

"Even if the schools are bombed, destroyed, and ruined, we just want to know that we are finally living in peace."

Under the plan, Israel would recover around 100 remaining hostages and bodies from among those captured in the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas that precipitated the war. In return it would free Palestinian detainees.

The latest draft is complicated and sensitive. Under its terms, the first steps would feature a six-week initial ceasefire.

The plan also includes a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from central Gaza and the return of displaced Palestinians to north Gaza.

The deal would also require Hamas to release 33 Israeli hostages along with other steps.

The draft stipulates negotiations over a second phase of the agreement to begin by the 16th day of phase one. Phase two includes the release of all remaining hostages, a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli soldiers.

Even if the warring sides agree to the deal on the table, that agreement still needs further negotiation before there is a final ceasefire and the release of all the hostages

If it all goes smoothly, the Palestinians, Arab states and Israel still need to agree on a vision for post-war Gaza, a massive task involving security guarantees for Israel and billions of dollars in investment for rebuilding.

ISRAELI ATTACKS

Despite the efforts to reach a ceasefire, the Israeli military, the Shin Bet internal intelligence agency and the air force attacked about 50 targets throughout Gaza over the last 24 hours, Shin Bet and the military said in a statement on Wednesday.

Israeli strikes killed at least 13 Palestinians across the enclave. Those included seven people who were in a school sheltering displaced families in Gaza City, and six others killed in separate airstrikes on houses in Deir Al-Balah, Bureij camp and Rafah, medics said.

Families of hostages in Israel were caught between hope and despair.

"We can't miss this moment. This is the last moment; we can save them," said Hadas Calderon, whose husband Ofer and children Sahar and Erez were abducted.

Israel says 98 hostages are being held in Gaza, about half of whom are believed to be alive. They include Israelis and non-Israelis. Of the total, 94 were seized in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel and four have been held in Gaza since 2014.