Houthi militia target Saudi Arabian oil tanker in Red Sea, causing “minor damage”

Arab News

April 4, 2018

Jeddah, Apr 4: A Saudi oil tanker was attacked by Houthi militia off the coast of Yemen on Tuesday, raising concern over the threat to shipping in one of the world’s busiest maritime routes.

The afternoon attack took place in international waters west of Hodeidah port, which is controlled by the Iran-backed Houthis, Col. Turki Al-Malki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said.

A coalition warship conducted a “swift intervention” foiling the attack, a statement said. The tanker suffered minor damage and continued its course under escort.

“The attack is a serious threat to the freedom of maritime navigation and international trade in the Red Sea and Bab Al-Mandab Strait,” Al-Malki said

Houthi control of sections of the Red Sea coast has been a concern for international shipping since the militants seized the capital Sanaa and territory across the country’s north.

An EU naval force that operates in the region confirmed the ship was underway, adding that the crew were safe and unharmed, Reuters reported.

The Houthis have carried out several attacks on coalition ships, including in Jan. 2017 when two crew members of a Saudi frigate were killed. The militants have also targeted US warships.

The attack came after Saudi air defenses last week intercepted a flurry of ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis, which drew international condemnation.

Saudi Arabia, Arab countries and the US say the missiles and other weaponry come from Iran and are smuggled into Yemen.

The Saudi coalition is supporting the internationally recognized government of Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi against the Houthis.

In Geneva on Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the sides in Yemen to reach a political settlement.

Speaking at a fund-raising conference for Yemen, Guterres said his Special Envoy Martin Griffiths will head to the UAE, Oman and the Yemeni government-held city of Aden in the drive for peace, Reuters reported.

Guterres said he saw “positive perspectives” for preparing a plan of action “to lead to an effective inter-Yemeni dialogue able to achieve a political solution, with of course the involvement of all those that are relevant in this conflict”.

He announced that more than $2 billion has been pledged toward a UN humanitarian appeal of $3 billion for Yemen this year. It includes $930 million from Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Yemeni Foreign Minister Abdel-Malek Al-Mekhlafi called for a return to the negotiating table to end the war.

On Monday, King Salman stressed in a phone call with Donald Trump the Kingdom’s efforts to find a political solution to the Yemen crisis and provide humanitarian relief and support to its people, Saudi Press Agency reported.

They also discussed Iran’s attempts to destabilize the region.

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Israel killing Palestinian children in Gaza every day despite ceasefire: UNICEF

News Network

November 22,2025

The Israeli regime’s forces have killed two Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip every day since the ceasefire began in early October, UNICEF has warned.

The UN children’s agency said on Friday that Israeli forces continue to attack Palestinians in Gaza even though the agreement was meant to stop the killing.

“Since 11 October, while the ceasefire has been in effect, at least 67 children have been killed in conflict-related incidents in the Gaza Strip. Dozens more have been injured. That is an average of almost two children killed every day since the ceasefire took effect,” UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires said in Geneva, reminding that each number in the statistics represents a child whose life had ended violently.

“These are not statistics,” he said. “Each child had a story, a family, and a future that was stolen from them.”

Data from Palestinian factions, human rights groups, and government bodies recorded since the US-brokered ceasefire deal went into effect on October 10 show that Israeli forces have carried out numerous attacks, each constituting a separate ceasefire violation.

UNICEF teams say they repeatedly continue to witness heart-wrenching scenes of fearful Palestinian children sleeping outdoors with amputated limbs, while others live as orphans in flooded, makeshift shelters.

“I saw this myself in August. There is no safe place for them. The world cannot normalize their suffering,” Pires said, lamenting that the UN could “do a lot more if the aid that is really needed was entering faster.”

The UNICEF spokesperson warned that with the advent of winter, the risks for hundreds of thousands of displaced children will increase.

He warned, “The stakes are incredibly high” for children as winter acts as a threat multiplier, where children have no heating, no insulation, and few blankets. He said respiratory infections rise.

“Too many children have already paid the highest price,” Pires said. “Too many are still paying it, even under a ceasefire. The world promised them it would stop and that we would protect them.”

“Now we must act like it,” the UNICEF spokesperson added.

Since the Israeli regime launched its genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza in October 2023, it has killed nearly 70,000 people in the territory, most of them women and children, and injured over 170,000 more, while reducing most of the structures in the enclave to rubble.

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