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Houthi rebels in Yemen said Israeli airstrikes on Thursday targeted the rebel-held capital Sanaa and the port city of Hodeida, after several days of Houthi launches that set off sirens in Israel.
The Israeli army said it attacked infrastructure used by the Houthis at the international airport in Sanaa and ports at Hodeida, Al-Salif and Ras Qantib along with power stations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech on Wednesday that “also the Houthis will learn what Hamas and Hezbollah and the Assad regime and others have learned.”
The Iran-backed Houthis’ media outlet reported the strikes in a Telegram post but did not provide immediate details. The US military has also targeted the Houthis in Yemen in recent days. The United Nations has noted that the ports are important entry points for humanitarian aid.
Over the weekend, 16 people were injured when a Houthi missile hit a playground in Tel Aviv. Last week, Israeli jets struck Sanaa and Hodeida, killing nine people, calling it a response to previous Houthi attacks. The Houthis have also targeted shipping on the Red Sea corridor, citing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Meanwhile, an Israeli strike killed five Palestinian journalists outside a hospital in the Gaza Strip overnight, the territory’s Health Ministry said. The Israeli military said all were militants posing as reporters.
The strike hit a car outside the Al-Awda hospital in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. The journalists worked for the local news outlet Al-Quds Today, a television channel affiliated with the militant group Islamic Jihad.
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Islamic Jihad is a smaller and more extreme ally of Hamas and took part in the October 7, 2023 attack in southern Israel that ignited the conflict. The Israeli military identified four of the men as combat propagandists and said intelligence, including a list of Islamic Jihad operatives found by soldiers in Gaza, had confirmed that all five were affiliated with the group.
Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other Palestinian militant groups operate political, media and charity operations alongside their armed wings.
Associated Press footage shows the charred shell of a van, with press markings visible on the rear doors. Sobbing young men attended the funeral outside the hospital. The bodies were wrapped in shrouds, with blue press vests draped over them.
The Committee to Protect Journalists says more than 130 Palestinian reporters have been killed since the conflict began. Israel has not allowed foreign reporters to enter Gaza except on military embeds.
Israel has banned the pan-Arab Al Jazeera network and accused six of its Gaza reporters of being militants. The Qatar-based broadcaster denies the allegations and accuses Israel of trying to silence its coverage of the conflict, which has focused heavily on civilian casualties from Israeli military operations.
Separately, the Israeli army said a 35-year-old reservist was killed early Sunday morning during fighting in central Gaza. A total of 389 soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the ground operation began more than a year ago.
The conflict began when Hamas-led militants stormed across the border in an attack on army bases and nearby farming communities. They killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped about 250. About 100 hostages are still in Gaza, at least a third believed to be dead.
Israel’s air and ground offensive has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, according to the Ministry of Health. It says that more than half of the dead have been women and children, but does not say how many of the dead were combatants. Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
The offensive has caused widespread destruction and displaced around 90% of the population of 2.3 million from their homes. Hundreds of thousands are packed into filthy tent camps along the coast, with little protection from the cold, wet winter.
Also on Thursday, people mourned eight Palestinians killed by Israeli military operations in and around the town of Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. The Israeli army said it opened fire after militants attacked soldiers, and it was aware of uninvolved civilians who were harmed in the raid.
& copy 2024 The Canadian Press
