United News of Bangladesh

Israel carried out airstrikes on Yemen’s port city of Hodeida on Tuesday, prompting Iran-backed Houthi rebels to activate their air defenses. The Israeli military said it targeted “military infrastructure” at the Hodeida port, claiming it was being used by the Houthis to transfer Iranian weapons for attacks against Israel and its allies. “Our air defenses are currently confronting Israeli aircraft launching aggression against our country,” Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree wrote on X. He added that Houthi defenses “caused great confusion” for Israeli fighter jets, forcing some formations to withdraw before carrying out deeper strikes inside Yemen. Funerals for slain journalists The latest strikes came as hundreds attended funerals in Sanaa for 31 Yemeni journalists reportedly killed in Israeli airstrikes last week. Those attacks followed a Houthi drone strike that penetrated Israel’s air defenses and hit a southern Israeli airport, injuring one person. According to the Houthi-run health ministry, last week’s Israeli strikes killed dozens in Sanaa, including the journalists, and damaged residential areas, a military headquarters, a fuel station, and the National Museum of Yemen. A government facility in Hazm, the capital of northern Jawf province, was also hit. Israel said the strikes targeted Houthi intelligence and propaganda facilities, as well as a fuel depot. Al-Masirah TV broadcast Tuesday’s funerals, showing coffins carried into a mosque. Despite what mourners described as a “huge loss,” turnout was lower than expected, with heavy rain blamed for keeping many away. Concerns for press freedom The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said it is still working to verify the reported deaths but noted that strict Houthi censorship makes confirmation difficult. Human Rights Watch added that Israeli strikes also hit a media center in Sanaa housing two newspapers, calling it another example of the grave risks facing journalists in Yemen. The Houthis, who say their attacks are in solidarity with Palestinians amid the war in Gaza, have been targeting Israel with drones and missiles, and striking ships in the Red Sea for more than 22 months.

On Monday, Israel’s military launched a series of intense airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen’s Red Sea province of Hodeida, resulting in at least one death and 35 injuries. The attacks followed the rebels’ missile strike a day earlier that hit Israel’s main airport. According to the Houthis’ media office, at least six airstrikes targeted the vital Hodeida port during the afternoon. Additional strikes reportedly hit a cement plant in the Bajil district, located about 55 kilometers (34 miles) northeast of Hodeida city. The full extent of the damage at both sites remains unknown. The Israeli military confirmed that over 20 fighter jets participated in the assault, releasing more than 50 bombs on multiple targets. Residents in Hodeida reported hearing loud explosions at the port, with smoke and flames visible in the area. They also said ambulance sirens echoed throughout the city. “The blasts were extremely powerful,” said Ahmed Saleh, a local resident living near the port. In Bajil, fires and thick columns of smoke were seen over the cement factory, which the Houthis said was hit by both U.S. and Israeli strikes. Ambulances also rushed to the area, said resident Khalid Seif. The Houthi-run health ministry said at least one person was killed and 35 others were wounded in the Israeli strikes on the factory. It said rescuers were still searching for missing people. On Sunday, the Houthis launched a missile from Yemen that struck an access road near Israel’s main airport, briefly halting flights and commuter traffic. Four people were lightly injured. It was the first time a missile struck the grounds of Israel’s airport since the start of the war. The Houthis claimed that the strikes were a joint Israeli-American operation. However, a U.S. defense official said U.S. forces did not participate in the Israeli strikes on Yemen on Monday. The strikes were not part of Operation Rough Rider, which is the ongoing U.S. military operation against the Houthis in Yemen to prevent them from targeting ships in the Red Sea that started March 15. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. Iran's top diplomat holds talks in Pakistan to mediate in escalation with India over Kashmir attack Separately, the U.S. military launched multiple strikes Monday on Sanaa, another U.S. official said. That official also spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations. Nasruddin Amer, head of the Houthi media office, said the Israeli strikes won’t deter the rebels, vowing they will respond to the attack. “The aggressive Zionist-American raids on civilian facilities will not affect our military operations against the Zionist enemy entity,” he said on social media. He said the Houthis will escalate their attacks and won’t stop targeting shipping routes and Israel until it stops the war in Gaza. The Houthis have targeted Israel throughout the war in solidarity with Palestinians, raising their profile at home and internationally as the last member of Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” capable of launching regular attacks on Israel. The U.S. military under President Donald Trump has launched an intensified campaign of daily airstrikes targeting the Houthis since March 15. Houthi rebels have fired at Israel since the war with Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023. The missiles have mostly been intercepted, although some have penetrated Israel’s missile defense systems, causing damage. Israel has struck back against the rebels in Yemen. The Israeli military said it targeted the Hodeida port because Houthi rebels were using it to receive weapons and military equipment from Iran. Rebel-held Hodeida, about 145 kilometers (90 miles) southwest of the capital Sanaa, has been key for food shipments into Yemen as its decade-long war continues. Israel has struck Yemen, and specifically the port city of Hodeida, multiple times. It previously struck Hodeida and its oil infrastructure in July after a Houthi drone attack killed one person and wounded 10 in Tel Aviv. In September, Israel struck Hodeida again, killing at least four people after a rebel missile targeted Israel’s Ben Gurion airport as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was arriving back to the country. In December, Israeli strikes killed at least nine people in Hodeida. The Houthis have launched multiple missiles toward Israel in the past week. The attack on Ben-Gurion International Airport on Sunday came hours before Israeli Cabinet ministers voted to expand the war in Gaza, including to seize the Gaza Strip and to stay in the Palestinian territory for an unspecified amount of time. While air traffic resumed after an hour, the attack could lead to cancelations of many airlines, which had recently resumed flights to Israel.    

Two US Navy pilots were shot down Sunday over the Red Sea in an apparent “friendly fire” incident, the U.S military said. Both pilots were recovered alive, with one suffering minor injuries, but the incident underlines just how dangerous the Red Sea corridor has become after a year of ongoing attacks on shipping by Yemen's Houthi rebels despite U.S. and European military coalitions patrolling the area. The U.S. military had conducted airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels at the time, though the U.S. military’s Central Command did not elaborate on what their mission was. “The guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, which is part of the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, mistakenly fired on and hit the F/A-18, which was flying off the USS Harry S. Truman,” Central Command said in a statement. The Houthis have targeted about 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip started in October 2023 after Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage. Rocket from Yemen Hits Tel Aviv, Injuring 16 People Israel’s grinding offensive in Gaza has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, local health officials say. The tally doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians. The Houthis have seized one vessel and sunk two in a campaign that has also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by separate U.S.- and European-led coalitions in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which have also included Western military vessels. The rebels maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the U.S. or the United Kingdom to force an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.

Bangladesh has strongly condemned the recurrence of Houthi militias' attacks, including the latest one deliberately targeting civilian facilities and energy installations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.    These unlawful and cowardly acts of terrorism jeopardise the stability of the kingdom and the region, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday.  Bangladesh feels that the repeated regular drone and ballistic missile attacks targeting civilian areas and establishments in the Kingdom are a flagrant violation in the face of international law and norms.  READ: Bangladesh condemns Houthi militias’ explosive-laden drones attack in Abu Dhabi Bangladesh notes with dismay that the Houthi attacks came ahead of GCC-sponsored peace talks in Riyadh scheduled for March 29, MoFA said.                                                Bangladesh also called upon the Houthis to cooperate with the UN and GCC initiatives and refrain from escalation of conflict in the region. 

Satellite photos obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday appear to show the aftermath of a fatal attack on an oil facility in the capital of the United Arab Emirates claimed by Yemen's Houthi rebels. The images by Planet Labs PBC analyzed by the AP show smoke rising over an Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. fuel depot in the Mussafah neighborhood of Abu Dhabi on Monday. Another image taken shortly after appears to show scorch marks and white fire-suppressing foam deployed on the grounds of the depot. The Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., known by the acronym ADNOC, is the state-owned energy firm that provides much of the wealth of the UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula also home to Dubai. ADNOC did not respond to questions from the AP asking about the site and damage estimates from the attack. The company had said the attack happened around 10 a.m. Monday. Also read: Yemen official says Houthi rebel missile hits city, kills 14 “We are working closely with the relevant authorities to determine the exact cause and a detailed investigation has commenced,” ADNOC said in an earlier statement. The attack killed two Indian nationals and one Pakistani as three tankers at the site exploded, police said. Six people were also wounded at the facility, which is near Al-Dhafra Air Base, a massive Emirati installation also home to American and French forces. Another fire also struck Abu Dhabi International Airport, though damage in that attack could not be seen. Police described the assault as a suspected drone attack. Senior Emirati diplomat Anwar Gargash blamed the Houthis for the attack, saying on Twitter that Emirati authorities were handling the rebel group’s “vicious attack on some civilian facilities” in the United Arab Emirates’ capital with “transparency and responsibility.” “The tampering of the region’s security by terrorist militias is too weak to affect the stability and safety in which we live,” he said. The office of South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who had been in the Emirates on a state visit, said he spoke to Abu Dhabi's powerful Crown Prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, immediately after the attack. Also read: Pompeo to designate Yemen’s Houthi rebels as terrorist group The statement quoted Sheikh Mohammed as saying the attack had been “anticipated.” The two had been scheduled to meet during Moon's visit but the event had been cancelled prior to the attack over an “unforeseen and urgent matter of state,” according to Moon's office. The Emirati Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment over Moon's statement. Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels claimed they were behind an attack targeting “sensitive Emirati facilities.” In a press conference late Monday, military spokesman Yehia Sarea said, without offering evidence, that the Houthis targeted the airports of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, as well as an oil refinery and other sites in the UAE with ballistic missiles and explosive-laden drones. Dubai's airport had normal operations Monday. At dawn on Tuesday, the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen announced it had started a bombing campaign targeting Houthi sites in the capital of Sanaa. Overnight videos released by the Houthis showed damage, with the rebels saying the strike killed at least 12 people. An international aid worker in Sanaa said there were civilians among the dead. He said the airstrike hit a house for a senior military official who was killed along with his wife and son. The worker spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. Although the UAE has largely withdrawn its own forces from Yemen, it is still actively engaged in the conflict and supports Yemeni militias fighting the Houthis. The incident comes as the Houthis face pressure and are suffering heavy losses. Yemeni government forces, allied and backed by the UAE, have pushed back the rebels in key provinces. Aided by the Emirati-backed Giants Brigades, the government forces took back the province of Shabwa earlier this month in a blow to Houthi efforts to complete their control of the entire northern half of Yemen. Condemnations of the attack on the UAE poured in from across the world. U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the United States would work with the UAE and international partners to hold the Houthis accountable, saying “we stand beside our Emirati partners against all threats to their territory.” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denounced the assault as “prohibited by international law” and urged all sides “to prevent any escalation amid heightened tensions in the region,” said spokesman Stephane Dujarric. The U.N. special envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg was headed to Riyadh for meetings with Saudi and Yemeni officials on “the recent military uptick” in Yemen, Dujarric added. Saudi Arabia and a host of other Arab states decried the assault as “a cowardly terrorist attack.” The kingdom, as well as the U.S., U.N. experts and others have accused Iran of supplying arms to the Houthis. The UAE was a key member of the Saudi-led coalition that has waged war against the Houthis since 2015, trying to restore to power the internationally backed government, ousted by the rebels the previous year. While Emirati troops have been killed over the course of the conflict, now in its eight year, the war has not directly affected daily life in the wider UAE, a country with a vast foreign workforce.

Bangladesh has strongly condemned the Houthi militias’ hijacking of a UAE flag-bearing cargo ship called “Rawabi” off the coast of Al Hudayah Governorate engaged in medical equipment for a Saudi Field Hospital in the Island.   This latest heinous attack obstructs humanitarian and relief work in the war- affected area of Yemen and is morally unjustifiable and shows utter lack of respect for international norms and values, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday. Bangladesh is "concerned" that such "insensible and illegal acts" are being deliberately repeated and directed against the humanitarian and relief activities being conducted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners. READ: Bangladesh lambasts Houthi attack on Saudi Arabia's Jazan Bangladesh particularly condemned that the hijacking of the ship which is ill-motivated and illegal and constitutes a terrorist act and piracy against the ship and its crew.   "This act is also a gross violation of international humanitarian law," MoFA said. Bangladesh called upon the criminals who carried out this attack and hijacking to take urgent action to release the ship and evacuate from it. Bangladesh in principle underscored the need to ensure safety and security of the international maritime laws along all maritime routes including the Southern Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden as well as the Arabian Sea. READ: Bangladesh strongly condemns Houthi attack on Saudi Airport   Bangladesh reiterated its firm solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its brotherly people against any threats to its security and stability. Bangladesh also remains "steadfast" in its commitment towards the regional efforts for maintenance of peace and stability in the region.

Bangladesh has strongly condemned the drone attacks targeting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia(KSA) and  Abha International Airport, in southern Saudi Arabia, by the Houthi rebels.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced that he will designate Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels as a “foreign terrorist organization” as time runs down on the Trump administration. The designation will take effect on Jan. 19, one day before president-elect Joe Biden takes office.

Yemen's Houthi rebels have blocked half of the United Nations' aid delivery programs in the war-torn country — a strong-arm tactic to force the agency to give them greater control over the massive humanitarian campaign, along with a cut of billions of dollars in foreign assistance, according to aid officials and internal documents obtained by The Associated Press.