Aden Airport Receives First Commercial Flight

A Yemenia Airways Airbus A320 aircraft is pictured at the Sana'a Airport March 28, 2015. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/File Photo
A Yemenia Airways Airbus A320 aircraft is pictured at the Sana'a Airport March 28, 2015. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/File Photo
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Aden Airport Receives First Commercial Flight

A Yemenia Airways Airbus A320 aircraft is pictured at the Sana'a Airport March 28, 2015. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/File Photo
A Yemenia Airways Airbus A320 aircraft is pictured at the Sana'a Airport March 28, 2015. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/File Photo

Yemen’s National Airline announced on Tuesday a commercial flight had landed at Aden international airport after acquiring security permits.

A Yemeni airlines official said a flight took off from Cairo and landed in Aden on Tuesday before returning to the Egyptian capital, according to Reuters.

The official said the flights would increase gradually over the coming days.

The new commercial flight came after Saudi Arabia's ambassador to UN Abdallah al-Mouallimi announced Saudi-led coalition's determination to gradually reopen some of the country’s ports and airports.

Mouallimi told reporters that the government-held ports in Aden, Mukala and al-Mokha, as well as airports in Aden, Seiyun and Socotra, would be opened very soon.

“We would like to confirm that steps are being taken by the coalition to start the process of reopening airports and sea ports in Yemen to allow for the safe transfer of humanitarian actors and humanitarian and commercial shipments,” said the Ambassador. 

Meanwhile, military sources reported that the Yemeni National Army carried out a military operation that terminated Houthis' threats against reinforcements to Taiz, south of Yemen.

Deputy spokesperson for government forces in Taiz Colonel Abdul Basit al-Bahar said the army forces cleansed al-Nasira and al-Shouhouj sites, last strategic location in Jashea mountain under insurgents control. He explained that this victory had been achieved with the support of the Saudi-led air force that raided several times on the locations.

After army forces regained control over al-Sawaleh mountain, insurgents transported their injured members to Jashea mountain, and then fled the area while the residents gathered the supplies insurgents had left behind, according to the source.

Military sources reported that army forces attacked insurgent sites in al-Kaous, Asaq, and al-Tawilah mountains in Haifan district on Monday.

Seven armed members of Houthi-Saleh militias were killed and six others injured as they tried to attack military locations, while the army units succeeded in breaking into Houthi bases at al-Khazja and al-Mafalis fronts.

Bahar confirmed that reinforcements were sent to the army on al-Kapetah and al-Maqatrah fronts of Lahj district, while plans were set in preparation for a military operation on Taiz’s southern and western fronts.

Military advancements in Taiz’s countryside coincided with the army forces’ attack on Nahim front, west of Sana’a, as the liberation of Masourah area is being planned.

In Baydah district, clashes continued between insurgents and popular resistance in az-Zahir front. The resistance proceeded to control new sites as the insurgents targeted residential areas and farms. Insurgents also continued to attack civilians through sniper fire, locals told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Political activist Ahmed al-Hamzi also told the newspaper that the popular resistance regained control over new sites in az-Zahir and Dhi Naim following fierce clashes with the insurgents.

Hamzi stated that popular resistance was backed by the coalition air force which raided insurgent sites in al-Jamajim, killing and injuring several militants and destroying a tank as well as a number of weapons and artillery.

The activist stated that Houthi-Saleh militias continue to target civilians with sniper fire. A nine-year-old, was targeted by a militia sniper while sitting in his father’s car in al-Mohsen village.

Vice President Lt-Gen Ali Mohsen Saleh visited on Tuesday the headquarters of Combat Operations Directorate in Maerib province.

He toured the directorate’s departments and was briefed on the significant functions, mechanisms and efforts made by the directorate as well as the results of several combat operations.

Mohsen, then, held a meeting with the directorate’s officers during which he lauded Saudi-led Coalition forces’ contribution and logistic and military support to rebuild the military institution and in thwarting Iran-backed coup.

He praised efforts exerted by the directorate’s leadership and staff and highlighted their significant role in coordinating battlefield operations.



Israeli Reservist Rams Vehicle into Palestinian Man Praying in West Bank

Israeli security forces secure a street as they leave the Palestinian village of Bizariya, in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli authorities demolished the house of a Palestinian man killed in July after he and another man reportedly killed an Israeli settler on the same day, on December 24, 2025. (AFP)
Israeli security forces secure a street as they leave the Palestinian village of Bizariya, in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli authorities demolished the house of a Palestinian man killed in July after he and another man reportedly killed an Israeli settler on the same day, on December 24, 2025. (AFP)
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Israeli Reservist Rams Vehicle into Palestinian Man Praying in West Bank

Israeli security forces secure a street as they leave the Palestinian village of Bizariya, in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli authorities demolished the house of a Palestinian man killed in July after he and another man reportedly killed an Israeli settler on the same day, on December 24, 2025. (AFP)
Israeli security forces secure a street as they leave the Palestinian village of Bizariya, in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli authorities demolished the house of a Palestinian man killed in July after he and another man reportedly killed an Israeli settler on the same day, on December 24, 2025. (AFP)

An Israeli reservist soldier rammed his vehicle into a Palestinian man as he prayed on a roadside in ​the occupied West Bank on Thursday, after earlier firing shots in the area, the Israeli military said.

"Footage was received of an armed individual running over a Palestinian individual," it said in a statement, adding the individual was a reservist ‌and his ‌military service had ‌been terminated.

The ⁠reservist ​acted "in severe ‌violation of his authority" and his weapon had been confiscated, the military said.

Israeli media reported that he was being held under house arrest.

The Israeli police did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The ⁠Palestinian man went to hospital for checks after ‌the attack, but was unhurt ‍and is now ‍at home.

Video which aired on Palestinian ‍TV shows a man in civilian clothing with a gun slung over his shoulder driving an off-road vehicle into a man praying on ​the side of the road.

This year ​was one of the most violent on ⁠record for Israeli civilian attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank, according to United Nations data that shows more than 750 injuries.

More than a thousand Palestinians were killed in the West Bank between October 7, 2023 and October 17, 2025, mostly in operations by security forces and some by settler violence, according to the UN In ‌the same period, 57 Israelis were killed in Palestinian attacks.


Deadly Blast Hits Mosque in Syria’s Homs, Saraya Ansar al-Sunna Claims Responsibility

Syrian security forces stand inside a damaged mosque after several people were killed in an explosion at a mosque as the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said, in Homs, Syria December 26, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Ahmed al-Najjar
Syrian security forces stand inside a damaged mosque after several people were killed in an explosion at a mosque as the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said, in Homs, Syria December 26, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Ahmed al-Najjar
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Deadly Blast Hits Mosque in Syria’s Homs, Saraya Ansar al-Sunna Claims Responsibility

Syrian security forces stand inside a damaged mosque after several people were killed in an explosion at a mosque as the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said, in Homs, Syria December 26, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Ahmed al-Najjar
Syrian security forces stand inside a damaged mosque after several people were killed in an explosion at a mosque as the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said, in Homs, Syria December 26, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Ahmed al-Najjar

A bombing at a mosque in Syria during Friday prayers killed at least eight people and wounded 18 others, authorities said.

Images released by Syria’s state-run Arab News Agency showed blood on the mosque’s carpets, holes in the walls, shattered windows and fire damage. The Imam Ali bin Abi Talib Mosque is located in Homs, Syria's third-largest city.

SANA, citing a security source, said that preliminary investigations indicate that explosive devices were planted inside the mosque. Authorities were searching for the perpetrators, who have not yet been identified, and a security cordon was placed around the building, Syria’s Interior Ministry said in a statement.

In a statement on Telegram, the Saraya Ansar al-Sunna said its fighters "detonated a number of explosive devices" in the mosque.

The same group had previously claimed a suicide attack in June in which a gunman opened fire and then detonated an explosive vest inside a Greek Orthodox church in Dweil’a, on the outskirts of Damascus, killing 25 people as worshippers prayed on a Sunday.

Several countries, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Lebanon, condemned the attack. 
 


Fuel Shortage Forces Gaza Hospital to Suspend Most Services

The sun sets behind a makeshift tent camp for displaced Palestinians set up in an area of al-Bureij camp, in the central Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP)
The sun sets behind a makeshift tent camp for displaced Palestinians set up in an area of al-Bureij camp, in the central Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP)
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Fuel Shortage Forces Gaza Hospital to Suspend Most Services

The sun sets behind a makeshift tent camp for displaced Palestinians set up in an area of al-Bureij camp, in the central Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP)
The sun sets behind a makeshift tent camp for displaced Palestinians set up in an area of al-Bureij camp, in the central Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP)

A major Gaza hospital has suspended several services because of a critical fuel shortage in the devastated Palestinian territory, which continues to face a severe humanitarian crisis, it said.

Devastated by more than two years of war, the Al-Awda Hospital in the central Gaza district of Nuseirat cares for around 60 in-patients and receives nearly 1,000 people seeking medical treatment each day.

"Most services have been temporarily stopped due to a shortage of the fuel needed for the generators," said Ahmed Mehanna, a senior official involved in managing the hospital.

"Only essential departments remain operational: the emergency unit, maternity ward and pediatrics."

To keep these services running, the hospital has been forced to rent a small generator, he added.

Under normal conditions, Al-Awda Hospital consumes between 1,000 and 1,200 liters of diesel per day. At present, however, it has only 800 liters available.

"We stress that this shutdown is temporary and linked to the availability of fuel," Mehanna said, warning that a prolonged fuel shortage "would pose a direct threat to the hospital's ability to deliver basic services".

He urged local and international organizations to intervene swiftly to ensure a steady supply of fuel.

Despite a fragile truce observed since October 10, the Gaza Strip remains engulfed in a severe humanitarian crisis.

While the ceasefire agreement stipulated the entry of 600 aid trucks per day into Gaza, only 100 to 300 carrying humanitarian assistance can currently enter, according to the United Nations and non-governmental organizations.

The remaining convoys largely transport commercial goods that remain inaccessible to most of Gaza's 2.2 million people.

- Health hard hit -

On a daily basis, the vast majority of Gaza's residents rely on aid from UN agencies and international NGOs for survival.

Gaza's health sector has been among the hardest hit by the war.

During the fighting, the Israeli miliary repeatedly struck hospitals and medical centers across Gaza, accusing Hamas of operating command centers there, an allegation the group denied.

International medical charity Doctors Without Borders now manages roughly one-third of Gaza's 2,300 hospital beds, while all five stabilization centers for children suffering from severe malnutrition are supported by international NGOs.

The war in Gaza was sparked on October 7, 2023, following an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

In Israel's ensuing military campaign in Gaza, at least 70,942 people - also mostly civilians - have been killed, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.