Yemeni Interior Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: Security Deployment in Hadhramaut in Coordination with National Shield

Yemeni Interior Minister Ibrahim Haidan. (Turky Al-Agili)
Yemeni Interior Minister Ibrahim Haidan. (Turky Al-Agili)
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Yemeni Interior Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: Security Deployment in Hadhramaut in Coordination with National Shield

Yemeni Interior Minister Ibrahim Haidan. (Turky Al-Agili)
Yemeni Interior Minister Ibrahim Haidan. (Turky Al-Agili)

Yemeni Interior Minister Ibrahim Haidan said that the deployment of the security forces in the Hadhramaut province, in coordination with the National Shield forces, is part of efforts to bolster security and stability in the liberated provinces.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, he said these steps are part of plans to consolidate security, protect private property and confront any attempts to destabilize the situation and undermine security.

He called on civilians in Hadhramaut to demonstrate “national responsibility” and “cooperate positively” with the security forces, stressing that maintaining security was a joint duty shared between the state and society,

Moreover, he urged every member of the security agencies deployed along the Hadhramaut wadi and coast to carry out their duties towards civilians and work on preserving security.

He underscored the importance of international efforts and cooperation between civilians, security forces and armed forces in restoring calm and stability.

Haidan warned against violations against private and public properties, saying they will negatively impact the lives of the people, harm the national economy and obstruct public services.

The current phase demands that everyone display the highest levels of national responsility and awareness, he went on to say.

Everyone must distinguish between those trying to serve the public interest and those seeking to harm it, he remarked.

Everyone must listen to reason and avoid going along with incitement in order to protect the social fabric and restore calm, he demanded.

He praised the stances of coalition to support legitimacy in Yemen, led by Saudi Arabia, and its pivotal role in supporting the legitimate government and backing its efforts to bolster security and stability.



Israeli Airstrike Kills Two in Gaza Including Girl, Hospital Staff Say

A Palestinian boy looks for his belongings amid the debris of a collapsed house that was previously damaged by an Israeli strike, at the Maghazi refugee camp in the central of Gaza Strip on January 5, 2026. (AFP)
A Palestinian boy looks for his belongings amid the debris of a collapsed house that was previously damaged by an Israeli strike, at the Maghazi refugee camp in the central of Gaza Strip on January 5, 2026. (AFP)
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Israeli Airstrike Kills Two in Gaza Including Girl, Hospital Staff Say

A Palestinian boy looks for his belongings amid the debris of a collapsed house that was previously damaged by an Israeli strike, at the Maghazi refugee camp in the central of Gaza Strip on January 5, 2026. (AFP)
A Palestinian boy looks for his belongings amid the debris of a collapsed house that was previously damaged by an Israeli strike, at the Maghazi refugee camp in the central of Gaza Strip on January 5, 2026. (AFP)

Israel killed at least two Palestinians including a girl, and wounded four others including other children, in an airstrike on Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday, officials at the city's main Nasser Hospital said.

The Israeli military said the strike, carried out in an area controlled by Hamas, had targeted a Hamas fighter who was planning to attack Israeli troops in southern Gaza.

Israel has carried out repeated air ‌strikes in Gaza ‌since a US-brokered deal took ‌effect ⁠in October ‌that halted most fighting. Israel says its strikes are aimed at preventing attacks or destroying militant infrastructure.

Gaza's health ministry says 422 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire took effect. Gaza fighters have killed three Israeli soldiers during the same period.

Under the first phase ⁠of the deal, brokered by US President Donald Trump, Israel has ‌retained control of 53% of Gaza. ‍Hamas agreed to release ‍living hostages and hand over remains in exchange ‍for the freeing of Palestinians detained by Israel.

The final hostage remains still to be handed over belong to an Israeli police officer killed on October 7, 2023 - the day Gazan gunmen invaded Israel, killing 1,200 and taking some 250 hostages, according to Israeli ⁠tallies.

Israel's offensive in Gaza has killed more than 71,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to local health authorities. Most of the territory is in ruins, with the population of more than 2 million living mainly in makeshift homes or damaged buildings in areas where Israeli forces withdrew.

Earlier on Monday, a father and son in Gaza were killed in the collapse of their house which had been damaged in ‌an earlier Israeli strike, authorities in Gaza said.


Israel Strikes North of Litani, Eastern Lebanon After Evacuation Warnings

Smoke billows after Israeli warplanes targeted the Rihan Heights in the southern Lebanese district of Jezzine, on January 2, 2026. (AFP)
Smoke billows after Israeli warplanes targeted the Rihan Heights in the southern Lebanese district of Jezzine, on January 2, 2026. (AFP)
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Israel Strikes North of Litani, Eastern Lebanon After Evacuation Warnings

Smoke billows after Israeli warplanes targeted the Rihan Heights in the southern Lebanese district of Jezzine, on January 2, 2026. (AFP)
Smoke billows after Israeli warplanes targeted the Rihan Heights in the southern Lebanese district of Jezzine, on January 2, 2026. (AFP)

The Israeli military launched strikes on southern and eastern Lebanon on Monday, Lebanese state media reported, after warning it would hit what it called Hezbollah and Hamas targets in four villages.

It was the first such warning issued by the Israeli military this year, as Israel continues to strike targets in Lebanon despite a ceasefire with Hezbollah.

An AFP photographer in Kfar Hatta, one of the targeted villages in south Lebanon, saw dozens of families flee the village after the warning was issued, amid drone activity in the area, adding that ambulances and fire trucks were on standby.

The Israeli military said in a statement it "began striking Hezbollah and Hamas terror targets in Lebanon".

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported strikes on the four villages.

In two separate posts on X, the military's Arabic-language spokesman, Colonel Avichay Adraee, said the villages were Kfar Hatta and Annan in south Lebanon, and Al-Manara and Ain al-Tinah in eastern Lebanon.

Adraee said the military would hit Hezbollah sites in Kfar Hatta and Ain al-Tinah, and Hamas sites in Annan and Al-Manara.

The NNA said the home targeted in Al-Manara belonged to Sharhabil Sayed, a Hamas leader in Lebanon who was killed by Israel in 2024.

- Repeated attacks -

Despite a year-old ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, Israel carries out regular strikes on Lebanon, usually saying it is bombing Hezbollah sites and operatives, and occasionally Hamas targets.

Two people were killed in an Israeli strike that targeted a vehicle on Sunday, around 10 kilometers (six miles) from the border, the Lebanese health ministry said.

In November, an Israeli strike on south Lebanon's Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp killed 13 people.

Israel said it targeted a Hamas compound, with the group rejecting the claim.

It has also hit Hamas' ally in Lebanon, the Jamaa Islamiya group, which claimed responsibility for multiple attacks against Israel before the ceasefire.

Under heavy US pressure and fears of expanded Israeli strikes, Beirut has committed to disarming Hezbollah, which was badly weakened after more than a year of hostilities with Israel including two months of open war that ended with the November 2024 ceasefire.

Lebanon's army was expected to complete the disarmament south of the Litani River -- about 30 kilometers from the border with Israel -- by the end of 2025, before tackling the rest of the country.

All four of Monday's targeted villages are located north of the river.

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Sunday called the disarmament efforts far from sufficient.

Lebanon's cabinet is to meet on Thursday to discuss the army's progress, while the ceasefire monitoring committee -- comprising Lebanon, Israel, the United States, France and UN peacekeepers -- is also set to meet this week.

At least 350 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon since the ceasefire, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry reports.


EU Chief von der Leyen to Visit Syria, Lebanon This Week

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, addresses journalists during a visit to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, January 23, 2024. (Reuters)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, addresses journalists during a visit to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, January 23, 2024. (Reuters)
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EU Chief von der Leyen to Visit Syria, Lebanon This Week

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, addresses journalists during a visit to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, January 23, 2024. (Reuters)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, addresses journalists during a visit to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, January 23, 2024. (Reuters)

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen will visit Syria later this week on a first trip to the country since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, a spokeswoman said Monday. 

Von der Leyen will head to Syria as part of a tour of the Middle East that will also see her visit Jordan and Lebanon, spokeswoman Paula Pinho said. 

Von der Leyen's visit to the devastated country comes as the international community seeks to bolster fragile efforts to rebuild a year after Assad's downfall. 

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has been scrambling to boost support from abroad and shore up security. 

But the country remains in a perilous position and is still grappling with sectarian violence and the threat of the ISIS group. 

The EU is a key financial donor for Damascus and has rolled back sanctions imposed during the civil war to try to boost reconstruction efforts.