Exactly three years after President Joe Biden removed the Houthis from the terrorist list, the Iranian-backed terror group is wreaking havoc on the high seas. Over the weekend, the Yemen-based jihadists struck several cargo ships, including a British vessel feared to be sinking.
The British ship was ‘taking in water’ after a Houthi missile strike damaged its hull, British news reports suggest. “The crew of a UK-registered cargo ship in the Red Sea were evacuated after it was damaged in a missile attack by Iran-backed Houthi rebels,” the London Evening Standard reported
The missile attack on the British ship was one of many carried out by the Houthis on the same day. “Yemen’s Houthis have mounted one of their most damaging attacks yet on a commercial vessel after the Iran-backed group struck a bulk carrier and forced the crew to abandon ship,” the UK daily Financial Times reported Monday night. “The attack was one of three on foreign vessels over 24 hours. Another dry bulk carrier, the Sea Champion, faced two missile attacks on Monday in the Gulf of Aden. On Monday evening the Houthis claimed to have successfully attacked the dry bulk vessel Navis Fortuna,” the business newspaper added.
The BBC reported:
The crew of a Belize-flagged, British-registered cargo vessel have abandoned ship off Yemen after it was hit by missiles fired by the Houthi movement.The Rubymar was in the Gulf of Aden near the Bab al-Mandab Strait when it was hit and the crew abandoned ship. The Houthis later claimed it had sunk.It is one of the most damaging attacks so far by the Iran-backed Houthis.They have launched dozens of missiles and drones at merchant vessels and Western warships since mid-November.The Houthis say their attacks are a show of support for the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.A Houthi spokesman said the vessel suffered “catastrophic damage” and had sunk. There was no independent confirmation of this.However, the UK government said the Rubymar was taking on water, had been abandoned and the crew taken to safety.It condemned the attacks as “completely unacceptable” and said the UK and its allies reserved the right to respond appropriately.
It is puzzling how the Biden administration had trouble judging the true nature of the Yemini terrorist group. The Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah (or the helpers of Allah in Arabic), make no secret of their true jihadist intentions in their official logo: “Allah is Great, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse on the Jews, Victory for Islam.”
The Biden administration has tabled a draft resolution at the United Nations Security Council, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the planned Israeli military offensive on Rafah, the last major terrorist stronghold.
“The US has proposed a UN security council resolution calling for a temporary ceasefire and for Israel not to go ahead with a planned offensive on Rafah in southern Gaza,” the UK daily Guardian reported Monday.
The newspaper noted that the “significance of the draft resolution is as a signal that Washington is willing to go through the UN to put pressure on Israel and not rely solely on bilateral messages.”
The capture of Rafah is central to the Gaza ground offensive, which began in response to the mass murder and kidnapping of Israelis on October 7, the Israeli government and military planners say. Hamas’ Gaza-based leadership is believed to be hiding in Rafah, using the remaining Israeli hostages as human shields against advancing Israeli troops. The fall of Rafah, the terror tunnel-ridden jihadist bastion on Egypt’s border, will also cut Hamas’ sole escape and weapons supply route.
Defying threats from the Biden administration, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to ‘fight until total victory’ against Hamas, which includes the capture of Rafah. “There is no substitute for total victory and there is no other way to do it than eliminating the [Hamas] battalions in Rafah,” he declared on Saturday.
Reuters reported the Biden administration bid to bully Israel at the UN:
The United States has proposed a rival draft United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a temporary ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and opposing a major ground offensive by its ally Israel in Rafah, according to the text seen by Reuters.The move comes after the U.S. signalled it would veto on Tuesday an Algerian-drafted resolution — demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire — over concerns it could jeopardize talks between the U.S., Egypt, Israel and Qatar that seek to broker a pause in the war and the release of hostages held by Hamas.Until now, Washington has been averse to the word ceasefire in any U.N. action on the Israel-Hamas war, but the U.S. text echoes language that President Joe Biden said he used last week in conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.It would see the Security Council “underscore its support for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza as soon as practicable, based on the formula of all hostages being released, and calls for lifting all barriers to the provision of humanitarian assistance at scale.”The United States does “not plan to rush” to a vote and intends to allow time for negotiations, a senior U.S. administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Monday.To pass, a resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the U.S., France, Britain, Russia or China.The U.S. draft text “determines that under current circumstances a major ground offensive into Rafah would result in further harm to civilians and their further displacement including potentially into neighboring countries.”
The IDF raided the Hamas-run ‘central bank’ in southern Gaza and confiscated more than $250 million worth of terrorist funds, the Israeli TV channel i24NEWS exclusively reported Tuesday. The latest raid is part of the operation that has seized large sums of cash hoarded in the homes of leading Hamas operatives.
The i24NEWS reported the IDF raid:
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted an operation at a central bank in Gaza, finding over a billion shekels ($250 million), a security source told i24NEWS.The operation targeted Hamas funds at the bank in Khan Yunis, conducted over the last 48 hours, and seizing what was found in 12 safes that were broken into.Skip advertisementJust one month into the war, back in November, the IDF officially announced the seizure of over $1 million in various currencies that were found in Hamas strongholds.The IDF at the time stated that the The Loot Removal Unit of the Technology and Logistics Division had confiscated the money from homes of wanted persons and locations where Hamas was active, this latest operation would be a more targeted operation in the war on the terrorist organization. (…)According to Colonel Olivier Rafowicz, an IDF spokesman, hundreds of millions of dollars have been stolen for years by Hamas from the International community, money that was aimed to help developing infrast
The IDF is strengthening its hold over southern Gaza, a prerequisite for launching the final blow to Hamas in Rafah.
“The troops directed an aircraft which struck and killed terrorists in the area. IDF troops also conducted targeted raids on military compounds and located weapons, including explosive devices and RPG missiles intended to be used in attacks on IDF troops,” the Israeli military announced Tuesday morning. “IDF troops are continuing to operate in western Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. Over the past day, the troops conducted targeted raids on terrorist infrastructure, killed terrorists, and located large quantities of weapons in the area,” the military added.
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