United News of Bangladesh

Israel carried out airstrikes early Monday targeting ports and facilities held by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, prompting the group to retaliate with missile fire aimed at Israel, officials said. The escalation follows an attack Sunday on the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Magic Seas in the Red Sea, which caught fire and took on water, eventually forcing its crew to abandon the vessel. The Magic Seas, owned by Greek interests, was reportedly struck by bomb-laden drone boats after an initial assault involving small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. Although Houthi media reported on the incident, the rebels have yet to claim responsibility. Their confirmation of attacks often comes hours or days later. A renewed Houthi campaign against shipping in the Red Sea could draw US and Western forces back into the conflict, especially after President Donald Trump launched a major airstrike campaign against the rebels earlier this year. The attack also comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, as negotiations for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war remain uncertain and Iran considers whether to resume nuclear talks following recent American airstrikes on its nuclear sites. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also traveling to Washington to meet with Trump. Israel strikes Houthi-held ports and seized ship The Israeli military confirmed that it had struck ports under Houthi control, including Hodeida, Ras Isa, Salif, and the Ras Kanatib power plant. “These ports are used by the Houthi terrorist regime to transfer weapons from the Iranian regime, which is employed to carry out terrorist operations against the state of Israel and its allies,” the Israeli military said. Israel also targeted the Galaxy Leader, a vehicle-carrying ship seized by the Houthis in November 2023 at the start of their Red Sea attacks linked to the Israel-Hamas war. “Houthi forces installed a radar system on the ship and have been using it to track vessels in the international maritime arena to facilitate further terrorist activities,” the Israeli military said. The Galaxy Leader, which sails under a Bahamian flag, is linked to an Israeli billionaire. No Israelis were on board at the time of its seizure, and the ship was operated by Japanese firm NYK Line. The Houthis acknowledged Israel's strikes but did not provide details on the damage. Rebel military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed that Houthi air defenses “effectively confronted” the Israeli attacks, though no evidence was provided. Israel has launched multiple strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, including a naval strike last month. While both Israel and the United States have targeted Houthi-controlled ports in the past — including a US strike in April that killed 74 people — Israel is now operating independently as the rebels continue to target Israel with missiles. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned of more strikes if Houthi attacks continue. “What’s true for Iran is true for Yemen,” Katz said. “Anyone who raises a hand against Israel will have it cut off. The Houthis will continue to pay a heavy price for their actions.” Turkey sends firefighting planes to Syria as raging wildfires devastate border regions Houthis retaliate with missile strike on Israel Following the Israeli strikes, the Houthis fired a missile at Israel. The Israeli military said it attempted to intercept the missile, but it appeared to make impact. No casualties or significant damage were immediately reported. Sirens were activated in the West Bank and along the Dead Sea. Crew abandons stricken vessel after Houthi attack The attack on the Magic Seas, which was en route to Egypt's Suez Canal, occurred about 100 kilometers southwest of Hodeida, a port city under Houthi control. According to the UK’s Maritime Trade Operations center, an armed security team aboard the ship initially repelled gunfire and rocket-propelled grenade attacks. However, the vessel was later hit by additional projectiles. Private maritime security firm Ambrey said eight skiffs attacked the vessel before bomb-laden drone boats struck it. Two drone boats reportedly hit the ship, while armed guards destroyed two others. The Maritime Trade Operations center confirmed that the ship was taking on water and its crew abandoned it. They were rescued by a passing vessel. The U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet referred questions to Central Command, which acknowledged awareness of the incident but provided no further details. Yemen's exiled government blamed the Houthis for the attack. “The attack also proves once again that the Houthis are merely a front for an Iranian scheme using Yemen as a platform to undermine regional and global stability, at a time when Tehran continues to arm the militia and provide it with military technology, including missiles, aircraft, drones, and sea mines,” Yemen’s Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said on social media platform X. The ship’s owners have not commented on the incident. Houthi campaign linked to Israel-Hamas conflict The Houthis have repeatedly launched missile and drone attacks on commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea in response to Israel’s military operations in Gaza. The group’s al-Masirah satellite channel acknowledged the latest ship attack but provided no further comment. Ambrey noted that the Magic Seas fits the Houthis’ typical target profile but did not elaborate. Between November 2023 and January 2025, the Houthis have attacked over 100 merchant ships using missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors. Their campaign has severely disrupted Red Sea trade, through which $1 trillion in goods normally passes each year. While Red Sea shipping has recently increased, the Houthis had paused maritime attacks until the US launched airstrikes against them in March. That campaign ended weeks later, though the Houthis have continued occasional missile attacks on Israel. On Sunday, the Houthis claimed to have launched another missile toward Israel, which the Israeli military said it successfully intercepted.

US airstrikes targeting an oil port held by Yemen’s Houthi rebels killed 74 people and wounded 171 others, the group said Friday, marking the single-deadliest known attack under President Donald Trump’s new campaign targeting the rebels. Assessing the toll of Trump’s campaign, which began March 15, has been incredibly difficult as the US military’s Central Command so far has not released any information on the campaign, its specific targets and how many people have been killed, AP reports. Meanwhile, Yemen’s Houthi rebels strictly control access to areas attacked and don’t publish information on the strikes, many of which likely have targeted military and security sites. But the strike on the Ras Isa oil port, which sent massive fireballs shooting into the night sky, represented a major escalation for the American campaign. The Houthis immediately released graphic footage of those killed in the attack. Israeli strikes kill at least 17 in Gaza In a statement, Central Command said that “US forces took action to eliminate this source of fuel for the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists and deprive them of illegal revenue that has funded Houthi efforts to terrorize the entire region for over 10 years.” “This strike was not intended to harm the people of Yemen, who rightly want to throw off the yoke of Houthi subjugation and live peacefully,” it added. It did not acknowledge any casualties and declined to comment when asked by The Associated Press regarding civilians reportedly being killed. The Iranian-backed Houthis later Friday launched a missile toward Israel that was intercepted, the Israeli military said. Sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and other areas.

Iran on Sunday once again denied aiding Yemen's Houthi rebels after the United States launched a wave of airstrikes against them and President Donald Trump warned that Tehran would be held “fully accountable” for their actions. The Houthi-run Health Ministry said the strikes killed at least 31 people, including women and children, and wounded over 100. The rebels said one strike hit two homes in northern Saada province, killing four children and a woman. The rebel-run Al-Masirah TV showed images of what it said were the bodies. The Houthis have repeatedly targeted international shipping in the Red Sea and launched missiles and drones at Israel in what the rebels said were acts of solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has been at war with Hamas, another Iranian ally. The attacks stopped when a fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire took hold in Gaza in January, but the Houthis had threatened to renew them after Israel cut off the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza this month. The U.S. and others have long accused Iran of providing military aid to the Houthis and the U.S. Navy has seized Iranian-made missile parts and other weaponry it said were bound for the militant group, which controls Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and the country's north. Gen. Hossein Salami, head of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, denied his country was involved in the Houthis' attacks, saying it “plays no role in setting the national or operational policies” of the militant groups it is allied with across the region, according to state-run TV. Trump orders strikes on Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in a post on X, urged the U.S. to halt the strikes and said Washington cannot dictate Iran's foreign policy. Trump on Saturday had vowed to use “overwhelming lethal force” until the Houthis cease their attacks on shipping along the vital maritime corridor. The airstrikes come a few days after the Houthis said they would resume attacks on Israeli vessels sailing off Yemen in response to Israel’s latest blockade on Gaza. There have been no Houthi attacks reported since then. The Houthis had targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two and killing four sailors, during their campaign targeting military and civilian ships between the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023 and January of this year, when the ceasefire in Gaza took effect. The United States, Israel and Britain have previously hit Houthi-held areas in Yemen, but Saturday’s operation was conducted solely by the U.S. It was the first strike on the Houthis under the second Trump administration.