Yemen: Legitimate Army Advances in Saada, Considers Taiz a Priority

Pro-Houthi fighters. AFP Mohammed Huwais
Pro-Houthi fighters. AFP Mohammed Huwais
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Yemen: Legitimate Army Advances in Saada, Considers Taiz a Priority

Pro-Houthi fighters. AFP Mohammed Huwais
Pro-Houthi fighters. AFP Mohammed Huwais

Yemen’s Armed Forces on Tuesday advanced in the province of Saada, tightening their grip on rebel militias’ main stronghold.

The Yemeni army, supported by Arab coalition jets, surprised militias by opening a new front in Saada and by succeeding for the first time in liberating strategic positions in several areas in Razeh district.

Military sources said that government forces were able to liberate a mountain range and positions located in Razeh after fierce confrontations with Houthi rebels.

The sources added that the Yemeni forces are now four kilometers away from the district’s center.

At the political level, Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed bin Dagher met on Tuesday with the new governor of Taiz, Amin Mahmoud.

They discussed the security, administrative and humanitarian situation in Taiz, in addition to the operation aimed at completing the liberation of remaining areas in the governorate, official government sources said.

Bin Dagher condemned the immense violations committed by “Iranian rebel militias” against the people of Taiz.

The Prime Minister said the insurgents were using their war on Yemen to destroy the country’s infrastructure, kill its children and women and target public and private businesses.

“The complete liberation of Taiz remains an utmost priority,” he added.

Separately, Houthi militias on Tuesday anticipated the Yemeni parliament session to be held in the city of Aden next month, by announcing that the rebel’s “council” in Sana’a will resume holding its sessions on Saturday under the chairmanship of Yahya al-Rai.

The council meeting is part of the militias’ continuous attempts to impose pro-Houthi versions of Yemeni legitimate institutions.

Last Sunday, bin Daghr said that the Yemeni Parliament would hold a session next month in Aden to approve the budget and reorganize the legislative branch in the country.



Israel Orders Evacuation of Area Designated as Humanitarian Zone in Gaza

 A picture taken in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing during Israeli army operations in areas east of Khan Younis city on July 26, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)
A picture taken in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing during Israeli army operations in areas east of Khan Younis city on July 26, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)
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Israel Orders Evacuation of Area Designated as Humanitarian Zone in Gaza

 A picture taken in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing during Israeli army operations in areas east of Khan Younis city on July 26, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)
A picture taken in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing during Israeli army operations in areas east of Khan Younis city on July 26, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)

Israel’s military ordered the evacuation Saturday of a crowded part of Gaza designated as a humanitarian zone, saying it is planning an operation against Hamas militants in Khan Younis, including parts of Muwasi, a makeshift tent camp where thousands are seeking refuge.

The order comes in response to rocket fire that Israel says originates from the area. It's the second evacuation issued in a week in an area designated for Palestinians fleeing other parts of Gaza. Many Palestinians have been uprooted multiple times in search of safety during Israel's punishing air and ground campaign.

On Monday, after the evacuation order, multiple Israeli airstrikes hit around Khan Younis, killing at least 70 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, citing figures from Nasser Hospital.

The area is part of a 60-square-kilometer (roughly 20-square-mile) “humanitarian zone” to which Israel has been telling Palestinians to flee to throughout the war. Much of the area is blanketed with tent camps that lack sanitation and medical facilities and have limited access to aid, United Nations and humanitarian groups say. About 1.8 million Palestinians are sheltering there, according to Israel's estimates. That's more than half Gaza’s pre-war population of 2.3 million.

The war in Gaza has killed more than 39,100 Palestinians, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count. The UN estimated in February that some 17,000 children in the territory are now unaccompanied, and the number is likely to have grown since.

The war began with an assault by Hamas fighters on southern Israel on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took about 250 hostages. About 115 are still in Gaza, about a third of them believed to be dead, according to Israeli authorities.