The United States and Britain launched strikes from the air and sea against Houthi military targets in Yemen in response to the movement’s attacks on ships in the Red Sea, a dramatic regional widening of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
As witnesses in Yemen confirmed explosions throughout the country to Reuters, President Joe Biden cautioned in a statement late on Thursday he would not hesitate to take further action if needed.
“These targeted strikes are a clear message that the United States and our partners will not tolerate attacks on our personnel or allow hostile actors to imperil freedom of navigation,” Biden said.
Britain’s ministry of defence said in a statement that “early indications are that the Houthis’ ability to threaten merchant shipping has taken a blow.”
The Iran-backed Houthis say their attacks on shipping routes in the Red Sea are a show of support for the Palestinians and Hamas, the group that rules Gaza.
Kirby told reporters that not enough aid trucks are getting into the occupied territory of Gaza. “There’s a lot of hunger and starvation in Gaza,” he said.
Furthermore, Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday condemned South Africa’s genocide case against Israel in Gaza as “hypocrisy and lies”, as some Gazans returned to scenes of total devastation in the north of the enclave where Israeli forces have begun withdrawing.
Three months of Israeli bombardment have laid much of the coastal enclave to waste, killing more than 23,000 people and driving nearly the entire population of 2.3 million Palestinians from their homes. An Israeli blockade has sharply restricted supplies of food, fuel and medicine, creating what the United Nations describes as a humanitarian catastrophe.
Israel says its only means to defend itself is by eradicating Hamas, the resistance group that fights for Palestine’s freedom. Israel blames Hamas for all subsequent harm to Palestinian civilians for operating among them, which the fighters deny.
In a strongly worded response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “the hypocrisy of South Africa screams to the heavens.”
“We are fighting terrorists, we are fighting lies… Today we saw an upside-down world. Israel is accused of genocide while it is fighting against genocide,” he said.
Israel’s foreign ministry accused South Africa of “functioning as the legal arm of the Hamas terrorist organisation” in a case built on “false and baseless claims”.
