US strikes Yemen sixth time, as Israel's war in Gaza raises tensions

The US fighter jets struck Houthi rebel sites in Yemen for the sixth time Friday, taking out anti-ship missile launchers that were prepared to fire, according to a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing military operations.

The Iranian-backed Houthi militants say their attacks on global shipping in the Red Sea corridor are aimed at stopping Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Now in its fourth month, the war has raised the temperature on tensions across the Middle East.

In Israel, a member of the country's War Cabinet said only a cease-fire deal can win the release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. The televised comments by former army chief Gadi Eisenkot on Thursday were the latest sign of a growing rift among political and military leaders over the direction of Israel's war.

 

Gaza's Health Ministry says more than 24,400 Palestinians have died in the conflict, and the United Nations says a quarter of the 2.3 million people trapped in Gaza are starving.

In Israel, around 1,200 people were killed during the Oct 7 attack by Hamas that sparked the war and saw some 250 people taken hostage by militants.

Here's the latest:

US WARPLANES BOMB YEMEN'S HOUTHIS FOR A SIXTH TIME, OFFICIAL SAYS

WASHINGTON - US fighter jets struck Houthi rebel sites in Yemen for the sixth time Friday, taking out anti-ship missile launchers that were prepared to fire, according to a US official.

The official said the strikes were carried out by F/A-18 aircraft off the USS Dwight D Eisenhower aircraft carrier. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing military operations.

Al-Masirah, a Houthi-run satellite news channel, said Friday that there were air raids in the western port city of Hodieda on Friday, targeting the al-Jabaana neighbourhood in the west of the city. The location of the US strikes could not be immediately confirmed.

The strikes come as President Joe Biden acknowledged Thursday that the bombardment of Houthi sites, including last Friday's massive array of strikes by US and British forces, has yet to stop the Iranian-backed militants' attacks on vessels in the Red Sea that have disrupted global shipping.

The Houthis say their attacks are aimed at stopping Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

BIDEN AND NETANYAHU DISCUSS WAR IN FIRST PHONE CALL IN ALMOST A MONTH

WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden spoke Friday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the leaders' first call in almost a month amid sharp disagreements over what should happen in Gaza after the ongoing war concludes.

The White House said they discussed the latest developments in Israel and Gaza. It comes a day after Netanyahu reiterated his opposition to a Palestinian state, which the US has insisted is necessary to bring about a sustainable peace.

The US has also pressed Israel to take additional steps to protect Palestinian civilians and scale back the intensity of its military efforts to root out Hamas in Gaza after the militant group's deadly assault on Israel on Oct. 7 that killed more than 1,200.

SWISS PROSECUTORS RECEIVE CRIMINAL COMPLAINTS OVER ISRAELI PRESIDENTS TRIP TO DAVOS AMID GAZA WAR

ZURICH, Switzerland - Swiss prosecutors said Friday they have received criminal complaints in connection with Israeli President Isaac Herzog's trip to the Swiss ski resort of Davos for the World Economic Forum's annual meeting.

The office of the Attorney General said the complaints would be examined as part of the regular course of such complaints filed by outside organisations, which were not identified. It did not provide details or identify the complainants.

Prosecutors are in touch with the Swiss Foreign Ministry to examine the question of the immunity of the person concerned, the office said in a statement, stressing such requests did not amount to official criminal proceedings.

The complaints come in the wake of a case filed by South Africa at the International Court of Justice against Israel over its military campaign in Gaza after Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on Oct 7.

Herzog was among the high-profile guests at the annual meeting of political and business leaders and others in Davos, where he stressed the plight of Israeli hostages held by Hamas, among other things.

Philip Grant, executive director of Geneva-based legal advocacy group Trial International, said he didn't know the group reportedly behind the complaints, but said anyone in Switzerland can make such a denunciation to state prosecutors.

That doesn't meant that prosecutors are necessarily going to take legal action, he said by phone.

Grant said under international law, one state cannot exercise its jurisdiction over a sitting head of state of a foreign country, and as such said the case is not going to go far.

There will certainly be a multiplication of this type of filings in the future, whether in Switzerland or elsewhere, he said.

SCUFFLES ON TEL AVIV HIGHWAY AS HOSTAGES' FAMILIES PROTEST

TEL AVIV, Israel - Israeli police scuffled with relatives of hostages held by Hamas after the group of family members blocked a major Tel Aviv highway, a sign of growing tensions over the government's lack of visible progress in reaching a new deal to secure the hostages' release.

Shahar Mor, whose nephew Avraham remains in Gaza, said he was one of seven protesters detained by police after the protest late Thursday. Footage showed demonstrators holding up signs reading Deal Now as they faced long lines of cars.

Eventually, police showed up and scuffled with some of the demonstrators, pushing them as they tried to clear the road. Mor said that after he reached his vehicle, rifle-toting police chased after him and other protesters before detaining them. He told Israel's Channel 13 TV on Friday that he and the others were later released.

Mor said the spontaneous protest was an expression of the families' frustration with what they believe is the government's failure to pursue another hostage deal.

About 250 hostages were dragged into Gaza during Hamas' deadly Oct 7 assault on southern Israel. Just under half were freed during a temporary cease-fire deal with Hamas in November, but dozens more remain in Gaza.