US military says Yemeni force seized Iranian arms shipment bound for Houthis
The NRF is an anti-Houthi force in Yemen led by Tarek Saleh, nephew of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and is not formally part of the internationally recognised government.
Yemeni forces "seized over 750 tons of munitions and hardware to include hundreds of advanced cruise, anti-ship, and anti-aircraft missiles, warheads and seekers, components as well as hundreds of drone engines, air defense equipment, radar systems, and communications equipment," it added.
Since Israel's war in Gaza against the Palestinian militant group Hamas began in October 2023, the Iran-aligned Houthis have been attacking vessels in the Red Sea in what they say are acts of solidarity with the Palestinians.
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Reuters
18 minutes ago
- Reuters
US and Ukraine in talks on drone investment deal
KYIV, July 18 (Reuters) - Ukraine and the United States are in detailed talks on a deal involving U.S. investment in Kyiv's domestic drone production, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Friday. The announcement comes a day after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy tasked a reshuffled new government with scaling up Ukraine's arms industry and strengthening ties with its strategic partners. Svyrydenko, speaking to reporters alongside several other new ministers in the capital Kyiv, said the deal would also lead to the U.S., Ukraine's biggest military backer in its war with Russia, purchasing Ukrainian drones. "We plan to sign a 'drone deal' with the United States. We are discussing investments in the expansion of production of Ukrainian drones by the U.S.," she said. "That is, we are talking about the purchase of a large batch of Ukrainian drones." Svyrydenko added that a political decision on the deal had been made by Zelenskiy and President Donald Trump, and that officials were already hashing out the details. Zelenskiy told the New York Post this week that he and Trump were considering a deal for Washington to buy battlefield-tested Ukrainian drones in exchange for Kyiv purchasing weapons from the U.S.. The Ukrainian government under Svyrydenko is expected to shore up ties with the Trump administration, which has grown increasingly critical of Russia since it stepped up air strikes on Ukraine. Svyrydenko is well-known in Washington, having negotiated a high-level deal offering the U.S. preferential access to Ukraine's mineral wealth that will feed a reconstruction fund. At the briefing in Kyiv, economy minister Oleksiy Sobolev said the board of a joint U.S.-Ukrainian fund will meet for the first time by the end of the summer.
BreakingNews.ie
18 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Christian patriarchs in rare visit to Gaza after deadly Israeli strike on church
Top church leaders have visited Gaza a day after its only Catholic church was struck by an Israeli shell. The attack killed three people and wounded 10, including a priest who had developed a close friendship with the late Pope Francis. Advertisement The strike drew condemnation from the Pope and US President Donald Trump, and prompted a statement of regret from Israel, which said it was a mistake. Since ending a ceasefire in March, Israel has regularly launched far deadlier strikes across Gaza against what it says are Hamas militants, frequently killing women and children. Strikes killed 18 people overnight, health officials said on Friday. Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement saying Israel 'deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit Gaza's Holy Family Church' (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP) Pope Leo meanwhile renewed his call for negotiations to bring an end to the 21-month war in a phone call on Friday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Vatican said. The religious delegation to Gaza included two patriarchs from Jerusalem — Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III. The rare visit aimed to express the 'shared pastoral solicitude of the churches of the Holy Land', a statement said. Advertisement Israel has heavily restricted access to Gaza since the start of the war, though church leaders have entered on previous occasions, usually to mark major holidays. They visited the Holy Family Catholic Church, whose compound was damaged in the shelling. They were also organising convoys carrying hundreds of tons of food, medical supplies and other equipment to the territory — which experts say has been pushed to the brink of famine by Israel's war and military offensive — and the evacuation of those wounded in the church strike. In his call with Mr Netanyahu, Pope Leo 'expressed again his concern over the dramatic humanitarian situation for the population in Gaza, with children, the elderly and the sick paying the most heartbreaking price', the Vatican said in a statement. An Israeli official confirmed that Mr Netanyahu had placed the call and said that the Vatican's account was accurate. Advertisement Pope Leo expressed his concern over 'the dramatic humanitarian situation' (AP) In an earlier statement, the Pope had 'repeated his intentions to do everything possible to stop the useless slaughter of innocent people', and condemned 'the unjustifiable attack' on the church. The Vatican said the Pope had also received an update on the condition of Rev Gabriel Romanelli, the resident priest at the church, who was lightly wounded. The priest had regularly spoken by phone with Pope Francis, who died in April, telling the pontiff about the struggles faced by civilians in Gaza. Mr Netanyahu released a statement on Thursday saying Israel 'deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit Gaza's Holy Family Church'. The Israeli military said it was still investigating. Israel has repeatedly struck schools, shelters, hospitals and other civilian buildings, accusing Hamas militants of sheltering inside and blaming them for civilian deaths. Palestinians say nowhere has felt safe since Israel launched its offensive in response to Hamas's attack on October 7 2023. Advertisement Israeli strikes killed at least 18 Palestinians overnight and into Friday, including a strike on a home in the southern city of Khan Younis that killed four members of the same family, according to morgue records at Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. Associated Press footage of the aftermath of the strike showed people digging through the rubble in search of remains. Palestinians say nowhere has felt safe since Israel launched its offensive in response to Hamas's attack in 2023 (Ohad Zwigenberg/AP) Israel's military said it was 'operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities' and that it takes 'feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm'. Nasser Hospital said another three people were killed while heading towards an aid site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an Israeli-backed American contractor. A spokesperson for the foundation said there was no violence at its sites overnight and that crowds were 'docile'. Advertisement Since the group's operations began in late May, hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in shootings by Israeli soldiers while on roads heading to the sites, according to witnesses and health officials. GHF's four sites are all in military-controlled zones, and the Israeli military has said its troops have only fired warning shots to control crowds. There was no comment from the military on the latest deaths. Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the October 7 attack and abducted 251 people, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Fifty hostages are still being held, less than half of them believed to be alive. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 58,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up more than half of the dead. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its tally. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government but is led by medical professionals. The United Nations and other international organisations consider its figures to be the most reliable count of war casualties.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Israeli settlers accused of killing 117 sheep in West Bank attack
JORDAN VALLEY, West Bank, July 18 (Reuters) - Palestinian Bedouins accused Israeli settlers on Friday of killing 117 sheep in an overnight attack and stealing hundreds of others in an apparent effort to chase farmers off their land in the occupied West Bank. The incident comes amid what the United Nations described this week as intensifying attacks by Jewish settlers and security forces against Palestinians in the West Bank and record mass displacements. The Israeli army did not respond to a request for comment about the mass slaughter of the animals belonging to the Arab al-Kaabaneh Bedouin community, in the Jordan Valley. Veterinarians were called in to treat a handful of sheep which had survived the knife and gun attack, some of the animals shaking uncontrollably and in apparent shock. Salem Salman Mujahed, a resident of Arab al-Kaabaneh, said multiple groups of settlers working in coordination had orchestrated the assault, and accused the army of standing by. "(Settlers) came near the houses. I asked them what are you doing here then we started fighting with each other," he said. "The army detained me, and they handcuffed me." He said other groups of settlers then attacked the sheep, which are vital to his community's survival. Reuters was unable to independently verify who was responsible for the attack. Palestinian Minister Moayad Shaaban condemned the incident, calling it part of a broader strategy to displace Palestinians from the region. "These sheep and animals were slaughtered and shot at," he told Reuters. "They are using these tools to terrify these people to leave these areas, which have been inhabited for dozens of years." The attack prompted at least one family to begin relocating. Bedouin Tareq Kaabaneh said he could no longer withstand what he called settler intimidation. "They were armed, they steal donkeys and sheep. In the night they come here and start shooting toward us," Kaabaneh said. "I am moving now from here, I want to protect my kids and my sheep, my livelihood ... yesterday I was safe, but I don't know what will happen to me tomorrow," he added. The United Nations reported this week that mass displacements in the West Bank had reached levels unprecedented since Israel first took military control of the territory nearly six decades ago. The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva also said there had been 757 settler attacks on Palestinians or their properties since January - a 13% increase from the same period last year. At least 964 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023. Over the same period, 53 Israelis have been killed in attacks by Palestinians or in armed clashes. The U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee demanded this week a full investigation into the killing of a Palestinian American who was beaten to death by settlers in the West Bank on July 11, describing it as a "criminal and terrorist act". The United Nations' highest court said last year that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories, including the West Bank, was illegal and should end as soon as possible. Israel disputes this, citing security needs as well as historical and biblical ties to the land, which it captured in the 1967 Middle East war. The West Bank is among the territories Palestinians seek for an independent state.
