Yemen Seeks Int'l Pressure to Make Houthis Respect Truce, Open Taiz Crossings

The Yemeni parliament meets in Aden. (Saba)
The Yemeni parliament meets in Aden. (Saba)
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Yemen Seeks Int'l Pressure to Make Houthis Respect Truce, Open Taiz Crossings

The Yemeni parliament meets in Aden. (Saba)
The Yemeni parliament meets in Aden. (Saba)

Chairman of the new Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), Rashad al-Alimi, underlined the importance of international pressure to make the Iran-backed Houthi militias commit to the two-month truce.

Alimi received a telephone call on Thursday from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who congratulated him on his new position. He welcomed the gathering in Aden this week of the Council, government, parliament, and Shura Council.

Blinken underscored the importance of an effective and transparent government that advances efforts to end the Yemeni conflict and protects human rights, said a State Department statement.

He "reaffirmed US support for the ongoing truce and the opportunity to provide relief to Yemenis by easing the movement of people and goods, including fuel. He further stressed the importance of opening roads to Taiz and other areas."

"The Secretary underscored the need to seize the momentum from these positive developments to secure a lasting ceasefire and a comprehensive peace process," added the statement.

Alimi and Blinken discussed bilateral relations and US support to Yemen and its new leadership, said official sources. They agreed to continue cooperation in the fight against terrorism.

Alimi hailed US support to the legitimate Yemeni government since 2014 and its backing of the transitional authority and Presidential Leadership Council. He stressed that the government is committed to the humanitarian truce in spite of the ongoing Houthi violations.

He hoped the international community would pressure the Houthis so that they would commit to the truce and open crossings leading to Taiz in order to lift the stifling siege on the city, in line with the United Nations ceasefire.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik pledged that the government will implement the recommendations of the parliament and follow the political goals set by Alimi.

He added that the PLC and parliament's confidence in the government will motivate it to adjust to the changes brought about by the formation of the council.

The council, he remarked, will pave the way for a new phase of "work and achievements."

Parliament had on Thursday given its vote of confidence to Abdulmalik's new government. The parliament had met in the interim capital Aden for the first time since the Houthi coup.

The Presidential Leadership Council was sworn in at the same meeting.

On the ground, the Houthis have continued to violate the truce. The army confirmed 105 violations on Wednesday alone on various battlefronts in the Taiz, Hodeidah, Marib, Hajjah, al-Jawf and Dhale provinces.

It said 26 violations were detected in western Taiz and southern Hodeidah, 24 on the southern, western and southwestern fronts in Marib, 22 in western Hajjah, 18 in Taiz, eight in al-Jawf and seven in Dhale.

The army thwarted several Houthi infiltration attempts and the militias have continued to fire at military positions, to fly surveillance drones, amass forces and build fortifications at several fronts.

The army has confirmed over 2,000 Houthi violations since the truce was announced on April 2.



Israeli Airstrikes Kill 33 Palestinians in Gaza

Mourners carry the bodies of Palestinian children killed in an overnight Israeli strike on a house, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, during a funeral at Al-Shifa Hospital, in Gaza City, July 6, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Mourners carry the bodies of Palestinian children killed in an overnight Israeli strike on a house, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, during a funeral at Al-Shifa Hospital, in Gaza City, July 6, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
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Israeli Airstrikes Kill 33 Palestinians in Gaza

Mourners carry the bodies of Palestinian children killed in an overnight Israeli strike on a house, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, during a funeral at Al-Shifa Hospital, in Gaza City, July 6, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Mourners carry the bodies of Palestinian children killed in an overnight Israeli strike on a house, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, during a funeral at Al-Shifa Hospital, in Gaza City, July 6, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 33 Palestinians in Gaza, hospital officials said on Sunday, as Israel's military said it has struck over 100 targets in the embattled enclave in the past day.

The fighting came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was preparing to fly to Washington for talks at the White House aimed at pushing forward ceasefire efforts.

US President Donald Trump has floated a plan for an initial 60-day ceasefire that would include a partial release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for an increase in humanitarian supplies allowed into Gaza. The proposed truce calls for talks on ending the 21-month war altogether.

Twenty people were killed and 25 wounded after Israeli strikes hit two houses in Gaza City, according to Mohammed Abu Selmia, the director of Shifa Hospital that services the area.

In southern Gaza, 13 Palestinians were killed by strikes in Muwasi, an area on Gaza's Mediterranean where many displaced people live in tents, officials at Nasser Hospital in neaby Khan Younis told The Associated Press. Five of the dead belonged to the same family according to the hospital.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the individual strikes, but said it struck 130 targets across the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours.

It said the strikes targeted Hamas command and control structures, storage facilities, weapons and launchers, and that they killed a number of militants in northern Gaza.

The strikes occur as efforts to reach a ceasefire deal appeared to gain momentum. Netanyahu’s office said his government will send a negotiating team to talks in Qatar on Sunday to conduct indirect talks, adding that Hamas was seeking “unacceptable” changes to the proposal.

The planned talks in Qatar comes ahead of Netanyahu's planned visit on Monday to Washington to meet Trump to discuss the deal. It is unclear if a deal will be reached ahead of Netanyahu's White House meeting.

Hamas has sought guarantees that the initial truce would lead to a total end to the war and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. Previous negotiations have stalled over Hamas demands of guarantees that further negotiations would lead to the war’s end, while Netanyahu has insisted Israel would resume fighting to ensure the militant group’s destruction.