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Houthis Show Confusion over Lenderking’s Peace Proposal

US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking, Asharq Al-Awsat
US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking, Asharq Al-Awsat
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Houthis Show Confusion over Lenderking’s Peace Proposal

US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking, Asharq Al-Awsat
US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking, Asharq Al-Awsat

Houthi spokesman Mohamed Abdelsalam tried to implicitly reverse his group’s hasty rejection of a peace proposal put forward by the US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking by retweeting a clarification post by an anchor at Almasirah TV.

In the tweet, the anchor who interviewed Abdelsalam says that Houthi-run Sanaa did not reject Oman-sponsored peace talks, but rather expressed reservations towards the current state of Lenderking’s peace plan.

The anchor also adds that the Iran-backed group is still engaged in discussions regarding the peace plan’s frameworks.

Abdelsalam, in his interview with Almasirah TV on Friday, rushed to reject Lenderking’s proposal and labeled it a “conspiracy” against Houthis.

While Houthis showed remarkable confusion towards the proposal, the internationally recognized Yemeni government renewed its support for efforts to end the war.

Lenderking, speaking at an online forum organized by the Atlantic Council think tank on Friday, reaffirmed that implementing a ceasefire in Yemen must be a priority for all warring sides there.

He noted that the Saudi-led Arab Coalition backing the Yemeni government against coupist militias was ready to truly support peace efforts.

Saudi Arabia's leadership is providing “full support” to the US effort to end the war in Yemen, affirmed Lenderking.

A “sound plan” for a nationwide ceasefire in Yemen has been before Houthi leadership for “a number of days,” but it appears the group is prioritizing a military offensive to take Marib, said Lenderking.

The US envoy said that the Iran-backed militia is giving priority to the campaign to take Marib over “suspending the war and moving relief to the Yemeni people.”

He warned that Yemen “will spiral into greater conflict and instability” without ceasefire progress, and said he will return to the region when Houthis are prepared for talks.

It is worth noting that Houthis are the only party in the Yemeni war that still refuses to make any concessions and continues to escalate its military hostilities, especially in the Marib governorate.

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Arab World

Hezbollah Pauses Attacks Under US-Iran Ceasefire as Israel Issues Tyre Evacuation Order

This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Tyre shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli strike in Hanniyeh village of Lebanon, on April 5, 2026. (AFP)
This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Tyre shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli strike in Hanniyeh village of Lebanon, on April 5, 2026. (AFP)
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Hezbollah Pauses Attacks Under US-Iran Ceasefire as Israel Issues Tyre Evacuation Order

This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Tyre shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli strike in Hanniyeh village of Lebanon, on April 5, 2026. (AFP)
This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Tyre shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli strike in Hanniyeh village of Lebanon, on April 5, 2026. (AFP)

Lebanon's Hezbollah halted fire on northern Israel and on Israeli troops in Lebanon in the early hours of Wednesday as part of the US-Iran ‌ceasefire announced earlier, ‌three Lebanese ‌sources ⁠close to the ⁠group told Reuters. 

Israel has continued its strikes on southern Lebanon and issued a new ⁠evacuation order for ‌one ‌southern city, indicating it ‌would strike there ‌soon, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the two-week Iran-US ‌ceasefire would not include Lebanon. 

Iran-backed Hezbollah is ⁠expected ⁠to issue a statement outlining its formal position on the ceasefire and on Netanyahu's assertion that Lebanon is not included, the three Lebanese sources said.  

The Israeli military warned residents of Tyre to evacuate as it continued to target Hezbollah.  

"Urgent and repeated warning to residents of the city of Tyre, specifically in Shabriha ... you must evacuate your homes immediately," the military's Arabic-language spokesman Colonel Avichay Adraee said on X.  

Tel Aviv has been battling Hezbollah since it launched rocket fire at Israel in March.  

The United States and Iran agreed to the 11th-hour bid to avert all-out destruction of Iran threatened by US President Donald Trump. 

Arab World

Morocco Dismantles Terrorist Cell in 4 Cities

Moroccan security forces. AFP file photo
Moroccan security forces. AFP file photo
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Morocco Dismantles Terrorist Cell in 4 Cities

Moroccan security forces. AFP file photo
Moroccan security forces. AFP file photo

Moroccan security forces have dismantled a six-member terrorist cell, according to a statement released by the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ).

The suspects were apprehended during coordinated raids in Casablanca, Kenitra, Sidi Taïbi, and the Dar El Gueddari region of Sidi Kacem Province, BCIJ said on Tuesday.

Investigations revealed a criminal modus operandi centered on “legitimizing” the process of funding extremist activities through theft and money laundering.

The cell is accused of raiding livestock farms near Kenitra and Sidi Slimane, then reselling the stolen goods in markets across the Safi and Sidi Bennour provinces, BCIJ said in its statement.

During the operation on April 5 and 6, authorities seized extremist manuscripts, bladed weapons, and significant sums of Moroccan dirhams believed to be criminal proceeds.

Officers also confiscated equipment used in the robberies, including a balaclava, gloves, a motorcycle, and two vans used for transporting stolen livestock.

The BCIJ, operating under the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST), confirmed that the suspects remain in custody.

The investigations, supervised by the Prosecutor General’s Office for terrorism and extremism, are seeking to uncover the full extent of the group’s criminal network and identify any remaining accomplices.

Arab World

Preliminary UN Probe Says Israel and Likely Hezbollah Responsible for Peacekeeper Deaths

A relative reacts next to the grave of Zulmi Aditya Iskandar, a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeeper killed in Lebanon, after the funeral ceremony at Cikutra Heroes Cemetery in Bandung, West Java province, Indonesia, April 5, 2026. (Reuters)
A relative reacts next to the grave of Zulmi Aditya Iskandar, a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeeper killed in Lebanon, after the funeral ceremony at Cikutra Heroes Cemetery in Bandung, West Java province, Indonesia, April 5, 2026. (Reuters)
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Preliminary UN Probe Says Israel and Likely Hezbollah Responsible for Peacekeeper Deaths

A relative reacts next to the grave of Zulmi Aditya Iskandar, a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeeper killed in Lebanon, after the funeral ceremony at Cikutra Heroes Cemetery in Bandung, West Java province, Indonesia, April 5, 2026. (Reuters)
A relative reacts next to the grave of Zulmi Aditya Iskandar, a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeeper killed in Lebanon, after the funeral ceremony at Cikutra Heroes Cemetery in Bandung, West Java province, Indonesia, April 5, 2026. (Reuters)

The UN said that preliminary findings from its probe into the deaths of three Indonesian peacekeepers in Lebanon last month show one was killed by an Israeli tank projectile and two by an improvised explosive device most likely placed by Hezbollah.

"These are preliminary findings, based on initial physical evidence," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told a news briefing on Tuesday, adding that ‌a full investigation ‌was continuing which included engagement with the ‌parties ⁠concerned.

Dujarric called the ⁠incidents "unacceptable" and said they could amount to war crimes under international law.

He added that the United Nations had requested that the cases be investigated and prosecuted by national authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The Indonesian peacekeepers were killed in two separate incidents in southern Lebanon on ⁠March 29 and 30 after a ‌bloody weekend in which Lebanese ‌journalists and medics were also killed in Israeli strikes.

Indonesia has urged ‌the UN to thoroughly investigate in light of the ‌preliminary findings, Veronica Rompis, a senior foreign ministry official told reporters on Wednesday, adding that all perpetrators should be brought to justice.

Bombardment in southern Lebanon on Tuesday forced a ‌convoy of humanitarian aid organized by the Vatican's embassy for a besieged Christian town to ⁠turn back, ⁠a priest in the town told Reuters.

Also on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the peacekeeping force, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, said the Israeli military had blocked a UNIFIL logistics convoy and briefly detained one of its peacekeepers.

The spokesperson, Kandice Ardiel, said that any detention of a United Nations peacekeeper was a blatant violation of international law and that the Israeli military had informed UNIFIL it had launched an investigation into the issue.