► Yemen: major demonstration in Sanaa against Israeli strikes
Supporters of the Houthis demonstrated en masse on Friday, December 27 in Sanaa to protest against Israeli strikes carried out Thursday on Yemen in response to missile and drone attacks launched by Yemeni rebels against Israel.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in the center of the Yemeni capital to also renew their support for the Palestinians.
One of the demonstrators set fire to an Israeli flag. Another held up a banner stating that“Israel will no longer be able to sleep”an allusion to the Houthi missile attacks on Israel which set off warning sirens and push Israelis into shelters.
► Paris “condemns” the visit of an Israeli minister to the Esplanade des Mosques
French diplomacy ” sentenced “ the visit Thursday of the Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, to the esplanade of the mosques, “in violation of the historical status quo of the Holy Places in Jerusalem.”
“In Jerusalem, the now systematic questioning of the status quo on the Esplanade des Mosques creates a risk of widespread conflagration”estimates the spokesperson for the Quai d’Orsay in this statement. Paris “recalls the need to preserve the historical status quo at the Holy Sites in Jerusalem and underlines the importance of Jordan’s specific role in this regard”he adds.
Since entering the government at the end of 2022, far-right minister Itamar Ben Gvir has visited this disputed site several times, located in the sector of the Holy City occupied and annexed by Israel.
► France “strongly condemns” the Houthi strikes
France condemned “firmly” missile and drone attacks against Israel carried out in recent days by Houthi rebels in Yemen, in a statement by the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“France recalls that these attacks, like the many others carried out by the Houthis against commercial ships in the Red Sea and against Israeli territory for more than a year, are unacceptable, destabilizing and must stop immediately”adds the spokesperson, recalling that Paris reaffirmed “its attachment to regional stability and the security of Israel”.
► Israeli operation near a key hospital in northern Gaza
The Israeli army announced that it had launched an operation against Hamas fighters near one of the last remaining operational hospitals in northern Gaza, with the Palestinian movement accusing the soldiers of storming the establishment.
The operation near the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia comes the day after the director of this hospital, Doctor Hossam Abou Safiya, announced the death of five members of his staff in an Israeli strike.
This brings the total death toll to 45,436 deaths, said the Hamas health ministry, since the start of the conflict triggered by an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in Israel on October 7, 2023.
In its statement, the Israeli army claimed that the hospital had become “a stronghold of terrorist organizations and continues to be used as a hideout by terrorists”.
► Israeli strikes on the Syrian-Lebanese border
The Israeli army said it had carried out strikes against a « infrastructure » at the Janta post on the Syrian-Lebanese border, which was used to smuggle weapons to the Lebanese Hezbollah movement.
“The Israeli Air Force struck an infrastructure used to smuggle weapons via Syria to the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Lebanon at the Janta crossing”indicated a military spokesperson. In Lebanon, the official ANI agency said the strikes targeted a mountainous region of Bekaa, in the east of the country, near the Syrian border.
► Houthis claim attack on Tel Aviv airport
Yemeni Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for a missile attack on Tel Aviv airport, hours after Israeli strikes against sites they control in Yemen, including Sanaa international airport.
The Houthis also claimed, in a statement, to have attacked the city of Tel Aviv (central Israel) and a ship in the Arabian Sea with drones. “Israeli aggression will only increase the determination (…) of the great Yemeni people to continue to support the Palestinian people”according to them. Israel did not immediately react to these attacks.
► The UN considers Israeli strikes in Yemen “alarming”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday evening condemned the« escalade » tensions between Houthi rebels in Yemen and Israel after Israeli strikes “particularly alarming” having notably targeted Sanaa airport, according to a spokesperson.
“The Secretary General condemns the escalation (…) Israeli airstrikes today on Sanaa International Airport, Red Sea ports and power plants in Yemen are particularly alarming”the spokesperson said in a statement, noting that these raids “follows a year of escalation by the Houthis in the Red Sea and region”.
