Israel launches airstrikes targeting Yemen's Houthi rebels
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United Arab Emirates - Israel's military launched airstrikes early Monday targeting ports and facilities held by Yemen's Houthi rebels , with the rebels responding with missile fire targeting Israel.The attacks came after a suspected Houthi attack targeting a ship in the Red Sea that caught fire and took on water, later forcing its crew to abandon the vessel.The Israeli military said it struck Houthi-held ports at Hodeida, Ras Isa and Salif."These ports are used by the Houthi terrorist regime to transfer weapons from the Iranian regime, which are employed to carry out terrorist operations against the state of Israel and its allies," the Israeli military said.The Houthis then responded with an apparent missile attack on Israel. The Israeli military said it attempted to intercept the missile, but it appeared to make impact, though there were no immediate reports of injuries from the attack.
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Hindustan Times
29 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Can Donald Trump force a ceasefire in Gaza?
TWO WEEKS after Israel's dramatic war against Iran, Binyamin Netanyahu is arriving in Washington to bask in glory alongside Donald Trump. But to receive a victor's reception at the White House, Israel's prime minister may have to yield to America's president on another matter. As the two leaders meet on July 7th, Mr Trump is hoping to be able to announce an end to the war in Gaza. Thousands of kilometres from Washington, in Doha, negotiators for Israel and Hamas, the Islamist movement that began the war with its surprise attack and massacre 21 months ago, will be in feverish talks to seal a deal in time for Mr Netanyahu's visit to America. The parties have agreed in principle on the framework of an agreement. During an initial 60-day truce, half of the estimated 50 Israeli hostages still held in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive, will be released in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. During the same period there will be further talks aimed at a permanent ceasefire. But a number of important details are still in dispute. Hamas wants Israel to withdraw from most of the areas it currently holds in Gaza and to allow international organisations to distribute aid in the strip, rather than rely on the distribution hubs Israel has set up (hundreds of Palestinians have been killed trying to reach these hubs since they began operating in early June). The group also wants clear guarantees that the 60-day truce will indeed bring an end to the war. A similar ceasefire earlier this year collapsed when Israel resumed military operations and closed Gaza to aid deliveries after the first phase had ended. Mr Netanyahu has said the group's demands are 'unacceptable'. Before taking off for Washington he told reporters that he is determined that 'Hamas will not be [in Gaza]' once the war is over. Yet there are reasons to be optimistic that this round of talks will indeed end in a deal. Mr Trump, flush from the ceasefire he imposed on Israel and Iran after America's strikes on Iran's nuclear programme, likes the idea of himself as an unparalleled peacemaker. He has made it clear that he expects both sides to accept the deal, claiming he will be 'very firm' with Mr Netanyahu. Mr Netanyahu, for his part, wants Mr Trump's backing for more strikes if Iran tries to revive its nuclear and missile programmes, as Israeli intelligence fears it is trying to do. Mr Trump may not want to be dragged into another round of fighting with Iran, so Mr Netanyahu has more of an incentive to accept a deal in Gaza this time. At the same, the threat from his far-right coalition partners to leave the government should he decide to end the war is becoming less compelling. Israel will have to hold an election by October 2026 at the latest. For Mr Netanyahu, whose public image has been boosted by the strikes against Iran, an earlier one may not seem like a bad bet. Hamas, too, is under increasing pressure to compromise. With Iran drastically weakened, it has lost one of its main backers in the region. It still has the support of Qatar and Turkey, but both are anxious to remain in Mr Trump's good books and have made it clear to the Hamas leaders they expect them to play along. Within Gaza, Hamas has lost ground, both to Israel and to local gangs. A ceasefire now could be its best chance to retain some of its power. Yet even if a deal is reached this week, the reprieve is likely to be temporary. For the 60-day truce to lead to an end of the war, Mr Trump will have to keep up pressure on both sides. And the would-be peacemaker-in-chief is not known for his attention span.
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Trump and Netanyahu to meet as new Middle East tests loom
When President Trump meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday, the Middle East will look far different from how it did only months ago. A region that was awash in conflict and risk seems to be ripe for diplomacy. At first glance, it appears to be a rare opportunity for Trump's brand of dealmaking. Israel and Hamas have resumed indirect talks on a cease-fire in Gaza after months of heavy Israeli military action. Iran, battered by the U.S. and Israeli strikes, is sending signals that it might be willing to resume nuclear negotiations, albeit on its own terms. And the White House is reaching out to Syria's new government, hoping for improved ties between Damascus and Israel. Trump and Netanyahu's White House meeting is partly aimed at claiming credit for these shifts and partly to discuss next moves. But the durability and scope of the diplomacy remains in question. Trump's efforts to claim the mantle of a 'president of peace," as Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called him, are likely to be tested by lingering differences with Netanyahu, the question of Palestinian statehood, a wounded Iran and the president's improvisational style. A two-month fighting pause in Gaza is critical for Trump and Netanyahu to have any hope of making eventual progress toward a prize they both seek: the normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. An even more ambitious goal of Trump's is to ease decades of animosity between the U.S. and Iran. 'On ending the war in Gaza, building on the strikes against Iran and expanding normalization, Trump and Netanyahu face a real moment of possibility," said Daniel Shapiro, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel and Pentagon official who is now at the Atlantic Council. 'Hopefully, they will seize it." But he added: 'If the Gaza war drags on after a 60-day pause, if Iran hides its highly enriched uranium and threatens to enrich it further, or if Netanyahu's political calculations stymie key decisions, the moment could pass with little to show for it." Of all the issues on their agenda, a Gaza cease-fire is the most achievable outcome. Netanyahu has repeatedly balked at calls for a permanent end to the conflict without an end to Hamas's role, but Israeli officials and Hamas's leaders have resumed indirect talks in Qatar on a possible deal. Israel's top general, Eyal Zamir, told the government that he prefers moving toward a hostage deal as further operations will threaten the lives of hostages while the benefit of further weakening Hamas is unclear, according to a person familiar with the matter. As he boarded the plane to Washington on Sunday, Netanyahu said he wouldn't relinquish his goal of seeing Hamas removed from power and disarmed even as spoke about the promise of expanding Israel's relations with Muslim-majority countries and his commitment to freeing Israeli hostages. If Netanyahu's coalition survives until the end of the month, he will likely have at least six more months guaranteed as prime minister. Israel's parliament goes on recess July 27 and won't restart until Oct. 19. Even if his coalition falls apart after the recess, there will be at least three months before any election. Resetting the region, former officials and analysts say, would require a sustained end to the fighting in Gaza that extends well beyond a 60-day respite, an objective that would require additional concessions by Hamas, new Israeli flexibility and support from Arab states in the region. Even a permanent end to the fighting in Gaza is unlikely to be sufficient to revive prospects for Israeli-Saudi diplomatic breakthrough. Saudi Arabia for years has said Israel must agree on a path toward Palestinian statehood before normalization with Israel would be possible. The Saudis will find it even harder to soften that demand after the ill-will toward Israel that the Gaza conflict has engendered in Arab countries, Israeli and Arab analysts say. Yet a large majority of Israelis now oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state, arguing it would be a reward for Hamas's attacks and would threaten Israel's security in the future. Persuading Iran to abandon its plans to enrich uranium also promises to be another uphill struggle. Arab officials are hoping U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will meet soon on a deal that would offer Tehran a lifting of sanctions in return for nuclear restrictions aimed at closing its option to produce a weapon. Such a meeting has yet to be announced, and there has been no indication that Iranian officials are ready to give up enriching uranium and instead rely exclusively on foreign fuel supplies for the country's civil nuclear program, as Witkoff has demanded. The Pentagon said Wednesday that the U.S. military strike had set back Iran's nuclear program by one to two years. During his May trip to Saudi Arabia, Trump declared that the U.S. would avoid military intervention and nation-building efforts in the Mideast, and pursue his 'dream" that Saudi Arabia would join the Abraham Accords, the 2020 set of agreements that normalized relations between Israel and Muslim-majority countries including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. In confining U.S. strikes to a one-and-done attack on Iran's nuclear infrastructure while eschewing regime change, Trump has largely hewed to that goal. Though it was Israel that began the strikes on Iran's nuclear infrastructure, Trump's decision to use B-2 bombers and submarine-launched cruise missiles against Iran's most fortified sites has given him additional sway with Netanyahu. But now he faces the question of how to use it. Netanyahu has emphasized that the war in Iran has created diplomatic opportunities for Israel. His statements indicate he thinks he might be able to pursue the war in Gaza and seek normalization with Saudi Arabia at the same time, an assessment at odds with most U.S. analysts. 'The question is can Israel start moving toward normalization without ending the war," said Amir Avivi, a former defense official close with the current Israeli government and security establishment. The impetus behind Trump's seemingly disparate moves, one former U.S. official said, is his determination to be known as the president who finally stabilized the Middle East. But the diplomatic openings he is now seeking to exploit depend on bringing along Netanyahu, along with Hamas and Iran. Some of Trump's initial ideas since returning to the White House have appeared improvisational and didn't get far. His February proposal that Gazans depart the strip so it might be rebuilt was a nonstarter for the strip's residents and Arab states. Other elements of his strategy lack specificity. Any longer-term solution for Gaza, many analysts say, would need to provide for some form of Palestinian governance that is an alternative to Hamas and an Arab security force, as well as reconstruction plans, most of which Trump administration officials have yet to spell out in any detail. 'Trump wants to be seen as a peacemaker but also someone who knows how to use leverage to promote deals," said Dennis Ross, who served as a senior official on Middle East issues in Republican and Democrat administrations. But he added, 'There is not an integrated strategy but Trump is taking advantage of what Israel has done militarily." Write to Michael R. Gordon at and Dov Lieber at
United News of India
an hour ago
- United News of India
BRICS expresses concern at Middle East conflict, Trump threatens 10 pc tariff on BRICS countries
Rio de Janeiro/New Delhi, July 7 (UNI) BRICS countries have expressed deep concern at continued conflicts and instability in the Middle East and the situation in "Occupied Palestinian Territory'' with continuous Israeli attacks against Gaza even as US President Donald Trump threatened an additional 10 percent tariff on any country aligning themselves with "the Anti-American policies of BRICS". In a Joint Declaration adopted after the BRICS Summit at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, BRICS countries reaffirmed that a just and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could only be achieved by peaceful means depending on fulfilment of legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including the rights to self-determination and return. They called for adherence to international laws, including the International Humanitarian Laws and condemned attempts to politicize or militarize humanitarian assistance. Reacting to the references to Middle East in the BRICS Joint Declaration, President Trump said in his post on Truth Social that ''Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10 percent Tariff…There will be no exceptions to this policy." China was quick to respond to President Trump's threat and described it as a "tool of political coercion.'' A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said such measures are unproductive and serve no constructive purpose.'' BRICS is dedicated to cooperation and inclusive global development, rejecting confrontation and geo-political rivalry, the spokesman said. According to the Joint Declaration, BRICS countries called for further negotiations to achieve an immediate, permanent and unconditional ceasefire, full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza Strip and all other parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, release of all hostages and detainees held in violation of international law and sustained and unhindered access and delivery of humanitarian aid. ''We call on all relevant parties to respect their obligations under international law and act with utmost restraint and to avoid escalatory actions and provocative declarations. We note, in this regard, the provisional measures of the International Court of Justice in the legal proceedings instituted by South Africa against Israel, which, inter alia, reaffirmed Israel's legal obligation to ensure the provision of humanitarian aid in Gaza.'' Asserting that the Gaza Strip is an inseparable part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the BRICS countries underlined the importance of unifying the West Bank and the Gaza Strip under the Palestinian Authority, and reaffirmed the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including the right to their independent State of Palestine. "We call on the international community to support the Palestinian Authority in undergoing reforms to fulfil the Palestinians' legitimate aspirations for independence and statehood, as well as the expeditious reconstruction of the civil infrastructure of the territory, with a central role by the Palestinians.'' Opposing the forced displacement of any of the Palestinian population from the Occupied Palestinian Territory as well as any geographic or demographic changes to Gaza Strip, they reiterated end of the illegal occupation and immediate cessation of all practices that undermine legal norms and obstruct a just and lasting peace. They also reaffirmed support for the State of Palestine's full membership in the United Nations in the context of the two-state solution and adequate representation of Palestine in all relevant international organizations. Welcoming the ceasefire in Lebanon they called on all parties to strictly adhere to its terms and asked Israel to respect the terms agreed with the Lebanese government and to withdraw its occupying forces from all of the Lebanese territory. The BRICS countries also reaffirmed commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity of Syria and called for a peaceful and inclusive Syrian-led and Syrian-owned, UN-facilitated political process. They condemned the violence perpetrated in various Syria's provinces among the country's communities, the continuation of terrorist activities by ISIL (Da'esh) and Al-Qaeda affiliates in Syria. They condemned the threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters' presence in Syrian territory and the risk of spreading of terrorists from Syria to regional countries. UNI RB RN
