LIVE – Lebanon: Joe Biden asked Benjamin Netanyahu to “reduce the impact on civilians as much as possible”

A ship was damaged Thursday by a “projectile” off the coast of the port of Hodeida, controlled by Houthi rebels, in western Yemen, the British maritime safety agency (UKMTO) announced, specifying that it was not There were no victims.

The agency did not say who owned the ship or who was behind the attack, but the Houthis regularly claim responsibility for firing on ships they say are linked to Israel in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The ship’s captain reported that it had been “hit by an unknown projectile” and had “sustained damage”, according to a UKMTO statement. “No fire or casualties have been reported” and “the ship is heading to its next port of call,” she added.

The official Syrian agency reported Thursday Israeli air raids targeting the central regions of Homs and Hama, the day after a strike in the south of the country. “At approximately 1:00 a.m. (10:00 p.m. GMT Wednesday), the Israeli enemy launched an air attack (…) targeting an automobile assembly plant in the Hassia industrial zone in the Homs region,” as well as a military position in the Hama region, reported the official Sana agency.

“The losses were limited to material damage,” added the same source. Citing the head of the industrial zone, Sana specified that the “air attack” had hit, in addition to the factory, vehicles “loaded with medical and relief supplies” causing “a major fire”

Joe Biden asked Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to “minimize the impact on civilians” in Lebanon, particularly in Beirut, while “affirming Israel’s right to protect its citizens from Hezbollah,” according to a report of their telephone conversation of the day.

This White House statement does not provide details on Israel’s expected response to the Iranian missile attack on October 1, but emphasizes that the American president and the Israeli prime minister agreed to “stay in close contact over the coming days, directly and through their teams of national security advisors.

Joe Biden, who had not spoken directly to the Israeli leader for seven weeks, “underlined the need for a diplomatic solution” to allow the return of the civilian populations of northern Israel and southern Lebanon.