Saudi Arabia has clarified that the Kingdom has no relation to or involvement in targeting Hodeidah and will not allow any entity to violate its airspace…reports Asian Lite News
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) expressed deep concern over the military escalation in Yemen and the Israeli attacks witnessed in Al Hudaydah Governorate. It said the action exacerbated the current tensions in the region and are detrimental to the ongoing efforts to end the war on Gaza and reach a political solution in Yemen.
In a statement, GCC Secretry-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, emphasised that the continuation of military operations in the region threatens regional and international security and stability, and leads to the exacerbation of the humanitarian situation in the region.
He called on all parties to exercise restraint and urged the international community and active states to assume their responsibility in ending the conflict in the region. He reiterated the continued efforts of the GCC countries to end the war in Gaza and support the peace efforts in Yemen.
Furthermore, he stressed the necessity for all international and United Nations efforts to continue to stop the Israeli occupation forces from their ongoing violations and reach an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip as well as all Palestinian territories, which will contribute to stopping the cycle of conflict and reaching a peaceful solution in accordance with the relevant international resolutions.
No relation or involvement: Saudi
The Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the Kingdom is following with great concern the developments of the military escalation in Yemen after the Israeli attacks in Yemen’s Red Sea port city of Hodeidah.
The Ministry said on Sunday that the attacks on Saturday aggravate the current tension in the region and halt the ongoing efforts to end the war on Gaza, calling on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and to distance the region and its people from the dangers of war, Xinhua news agency reported.
It also called on the international community and active, influential parties to fulfill their responsibilities to end regional conflicts.
Saudi Defence Ministry Spokesperson Turki Al-Maliki said on Sunday that the Kingdom has no relation to or involvement in targeting Hodeidah and will not allow any entity to violate its airspace.
The Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported that Israeli airstrikes on Hodeidah killed six and wounded 83 others.
Meanwhile, Israel’s army said on Sunday it has intercepted a surface-to-surface missile launched by Houthi forces in the Red Sea targeting the resort city Eilat.
Before the interception, the missile triggered sirens in Eilat, Israel’s southernmost city. “The IDF (Israel Defence Forces) Aerial Defence Array successfully intercepted a surface-to-surface missile that approached Israeli territory from Yemen using the Arrow-3 Aerial Defence System,” the Israeli military said in a press statement, Xinhua news agency reported.
The missile did not cross into Israeli territory, the military added.
Hezbollah retaliates
Houthi group vowed to “hit vital targets in Israel” while Lebanon’s Hezbollah retaliated with rockets after Israel had launched airstrikes on different areas in Yemen and Lebanon.
Earlier in the day, the Israeli military said in a statement that its fighter jets targeted “military targets” of the Houthi militia, as a response to “the hundreds of attacks carried out against the State of Israel in recent months.”
The statement came after Houthi top negotiator Mohammed Abdulsalam said the Israeli strikes would not stop the military group from targeting “Israeli cities and ships.”
Hodeidah residents said a big column of black smoke and fire at the scene could be seen from miles away. Fire trucks and ambulances rushed to the scene as authorities cordoned off the area near the Red Sea.
Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia has been leading an Arab military coalition to support the Yemeni government forces in confronting the Houthi group.
The Israeli airstrikes came a day after the Houthis claimed responsibility for a drone attack on a building in Tel Aviv that killed a person and injured 10 others.
Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group fired dozens of rockets into northern Israel on Saturday, targeting a kibbutz for the first time in nine months in retaliation for an Israeli drone strike earlier in the day.
A few hours before Hezbollah’s attack, seven people, including four children, were injured when an Israeli drone strike hit a tent belonging to a displaced Syrian, and a car parked next to it, in the southern Lebanese village of Burj al-Muluk.
Later that night, Israeli warplanes targeted an ammunition warehouse belonging to Hezbollah in Lebanon’s southwest town of Adloun, wounding at least five citizens and completely demolishing the house, Lebanese military sources told Xinhua.
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