Houthis say rescue of burning Red Sea oil tanker begins Sunday
The Greek-flagged Sounion, carrying 150,000 tonnes of crude oil, has been abandoned since late last month after a Houthi assault destroyed its engine and caused a fire
Updated 01 September 2024
Saeed Al-Batati
AL-MUKALLA, Yemen: Yemen’s Houthi militia said that rescue ships and tugboats will begin recovering a burning oil tanker in the Red Sea on Sunday, as experts warn that time is running out to avoid a calamity as a fire on the vessel spreads.
The Greek-flagged Sounion, carrying 150,000 tonnes of crude oil, has been abandoned since late last month after a Houthi assault destroyed its engine and caused a fire, presenting a hazard to the maritime environment and commerce.
In a post on X on Saturday, Houthi Foreign Minister Jamal Amer said that the tugboats will reach and recover the tanker on Sunday, bolstering hopes of averting a major disaster in the Red Sea.
Since November, the Houthis have attacked commercial and navy ships in the Red Sea and other waters near Yemen with ballistic missiles, drones and boat drones, claiming to be acting in support of Palestinians in Gaza.
It comes as maritime experts and the EU naval mission in the Red Sea urged immediate and comprehensive international action to rescue the Sounion in order to avoid an environmental and shipping catastrophe in the Red Sea, which would affect Yemen and other Red Sea countries.
“MV Sounion represents a huge environmental risk that will affect all countries bordering the Red Sea,” the EU naval mission, known as EUNAVFOR ASPIDES, said in a post on X on Sunday.
Wim Zwijnenburg of the Humanitarian Disarmament Project at the Dutch peace organization PAX told Arab News on Sunday, citing recent satellite images, that the fire on the oil tanker is spreading because of the recent Houthi use of explosives onboard, which could damage the ship’s hull and cause the Sounion to sink.
“The fires and heat will lead to a deterioration of the structural integrity of the hull, which can have catastrophic consequences, with a wider environmental fallout for the Red Sea and coastal communities,” he said.
“The situation is getting more critical by the day. The fires are not contained and affect the pressure on the hull, which could lead to an explosion and sinking of the entire ship, with the remaining crude oil spreading.”
In addition to the Sounion, the Houthis have destroyed two commercial ships in the Red Sea since the start of their campaign, including the Belize-flagged and Lebanese-operated MV Rubymar, which was carrying 22,000 tonnes of ammonium phosphate-sulfate NPS fertilizer and more than 200 tonnes of fuel.
Zwijnenburg said that the explosion or leaking of the ship and its cargo would have a catastrophic impact on the marine and coastal environment, as well as people’s livelihoods in Yemen and Eritrea, adding that the salvage operation would begin by extinguishing the fire and transferring the ship’s cargo to another vessel.
“A salvage operation with security presence must be set up to stop the fires, tow the vessel to a safe area and transfer the contents to another tanker,” Zwijnenburg said.
Experts also warned that the Houthis may be exploiting the rescue operation as a bargaining chip to put pressure on the international community, as they did with the FSO Safer oil tanker off Yemen’s western city of Hodeidah.
According to Noam Raydan, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, the US should immediately waive sanctions on regional tugboat companies and deploy international naval forces around the ship to prevent the Houthis from disrupting the operation.
She also called for international naval forces be prevent the Houthis from returning to ships and sinking them.
“Experience has shown that the group is willing to interfere with salvage efforts if they can turn the situation into a political bargaining chip — as seen most prominently during the protracted mission to empty the FSO Safer,” she said in an article published on the think tank’s website on Aug. 29.
Despite worldwide outcry over the devastating Houthi strikes on ships, the group’s
military spokesperson, Yahya Sarea, claimed responsibility on Saturday night for a new missile attack on the Liberian-flagged merchant ship MV Groton in the Gulf of Aden, vowing to continue the campaign.
US Central Command said on Sunday morning that its forces had destroyed a drone and a drone boat in Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen.
Dozens of Palestinian families flee Israeli operation in West Bank
The Palestinian foreign ministry accused Israel of applying “the same policy of destruction” in the West Bank as in Gaza
Updated 11 February 2025
AFP
NUR SHAMS, Palestinian Territories: Dozens of Palestinian families fled on Monday from the Nur Shams refugee camp in the north of the occupied West Bank, as Israel pushed on with a sweeping military operation.
“We hear explosions and bombings as well as bulldozers. It’s a tragedy. They are doing here what they did in Gaza,” said Ahmed Ezza, a resident.
Ahmed Abu Zahra, another resident of the camp which is on the outskirts of Tulkarem, said he was forced to leave his home.
“The (Israeli) army came and we were forced to leave after they started destroying our homes.”
Three Palestinians, including two women and a young man, were killed on Sunday in Nur Shams, the health ministry in the territory said.
Israel said its military police had opened an investigation into the death of one of them, a woman who was eight months pregnant.
It said on Saturday it had launched an operation in Nur Shams, part of a much larger campaign that began in January in Tulkarem and Jenin, which it said had “targeted several terrorists.”
In the streets of Nur Shams camp, under a light rain, residents were fleeing.
An AFP photographer saw dozens of families hastily leaving the camp, while bulldozers carried out large-scale demolitions amid gunfire and explosions.
According to Murad Alyan, from the camp’s popular committee, “more than half of the 13,000 inhabitants have fled out of fear for their lives.”
Since January 21, the Israeli military has been conducting a major operation in the “triangle” of Jenin, Tubas and Tulkarem, where half a million Palestinians live.
Israel says it is targeting “terrorist infrastructure.”
Jenin in particular is a bastion of armed Palestinian militant groups.
“What we are living through is without precedent,” Ahmad Al-Assaad, the governor of Tubas, told AFP.
The Israeli operations “today did not target fighters, but civilians, women and children, and they blew houses to pressure residents into leaving.”
According to the Israeli rights group B’Tselem, Israel was pursuing an “all-our war on the Palestinian people.”
“Since the ceasefire began in Gaza, the West Bank has been on fire,” it said in a post on X, referring to the truce agreement that halted the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza on January 19.
“The objective of these operations is not security-related, but political,” said Abdallah Kamil, the governor of Tulkarem.
“They destroy everything,” he said of the Israeli military. “They are trying to change the demographics of the region.”
Israel insists that its operations are targeted at Palestinians suspected of preparing attacks against Israeli citizens.
The Palestinian foreign ministry accused Israel of applying “the same policy of destruction” in the West Bank as in Gaza.
Violence has exploded in the occupied West Bank since the war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
At least 887 Palestinians, including militants, have been killed by the Israeli military or settlers, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
At least 32 Israelis, including soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations, according to official Israeli figures.
Former UK Supreme Court judge claims Israel’s Gaza assault is ‘grossly disproportionate’
Jonathan Sumption speaks ahead of publication of his new book
Updated 11 February 2025
Arab News
LONDON: Jonathan Sumption, a former UK Supreme Court judge, has described Israel’s military actions in Gaza as “grossly disproportionate,” and added there was “at least an arguable case” that they were genocidal.
Speaking ahead of the release of his new book, “The Challenges of Democracy: And The Rule of Law,” Sumption explained to The Guardian newspaper why he signed a letter last year accusing the UK government of breaching international law by continuing to arm Israel.
He said: “I thought — and I still think — that the conduct of Israel in Gaza is grossly disproportionate and there’s at least an arguable case that it’s genocidal. One can’t put it higher than that because genocide depends on intent. That’s quite a difficult thing to establish but I read the provisional decision of the International Court (of Justice) and it seemed to me that they were saying that that was an arguable proposition.
“Given that the obligation of parties to the genocide convention is proactively to prevent it happening and not just to react after the event, I thought that the authors of the letter — and I wasn’t the draftsman — had got a point.”
Israel has denied committing genocide, maintaining that its military operations were acts of self-defense while also rejecting the ICJ’s findings.
Sumption’s book, which is published on Thursday, focuses on perceived threats to democracy, including restrictions on free speech. He expresses concern over how certain opinions, particularly those supporting Palestinian rights, have been suppressed in some countries.
He said: “I think that supporters of the Palestinian cause have had a rough time in a number of European jurisdictions, notably Germany, where there’s been direct — and government — moves to suppress that strand of thought altogether.
“We haven’t got anywhere near as close to things as that … but there’s certainly been a lot of calls for toughness on pro-Palestine demonstrations, which assume, without actually saying, that it’s perfectly obvious that support for Palestine is wrong. I don’t think it’s wrong.”
Syria forces accuse Hezbollah of attacks, sponsoring smuggling at border
Syrian forces clashed with smuggling gangs near the Lebanese border this week
Forces raided locations involved in the production and packaging of various drugs
Updated 10 February 2025
AFP
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group has launched attacks on Syrian security forces and is sponsoring cross-border smuggling gangs, the new Syrian authorities said on Monday, according to state media.
Syrian forces clashed with smuggling gangs this week, most of whom were affiliated with Hezbollah, but did not target Lebanese territory, Lt. Col. Moayed Al-Salama said in a statement carried by official news agency SANA.
Hezbollah was allied to former Syrian strongman Bashar Assad, who was toppled by opposition rebels in December.
The new authorities in Damascus launched anti-smuggling operations last week at the Lebanese-Syria border, where the Iranian-backed group holds sway.
“Most smuggling gangs on the Lebanese border are affiliated with the Hezbollah militia, whose presence now poses a threat at the Syrian border because it sponsors drug and weapon smugglers,” Salama was reported as saying.
“We have developed a comprehensive plan to fully control the borders,” said the official, whom SANA described as the commander for the western region in the Border Security Administration.
“We confirm that we did not target the Lebanese interior, despite shelling from the Hezbollah militia reaching our units,” Salama said.
On Saturday, the Lebanese army said it responded to incoming fire from across the Syrian border, two days after the new authorities in Damascus said they had launched operations against smugglers there.
The army did not name those responsible for firing toward Lebanon.
He blamed “the defunct regime” for turning “the Syrian-Lebanese border into corridors for the drug trade in cooperation with the Hezbollah militia, promoting the presence of armed smuggling gangs.”
Operations “were limited to Syrian border villages, targeting the armed smuggling gangs and remnants (of the Assad government) and militias who fought with them,” he added.
Syrian forces seized “farms, warehouses and factories for the production and packaging of hashish and captagon pills,” he said, referring to the potent synthetic drug which Syria mass-produced under Assad.
They also found presses specialized in printing counterfeit currency, he said, as well as as shipments of weapons and drugs that were about to cross in.
Syria shares a 330-kilometer (205-mile) border with Syria, with no official demarcation at several points, making it porous and prone to smuggling.
Assad’s fall in December disrupted Hezbollah’s arms supply lines through the land border with Syria.
Lebanon turns the page with new president and new government
Many are cautiously optimistic, but remain skeptical due to years of corruption, economic hardship, and weak governance
For years, Hezbollah dominated Lebanese politics, but has suffered major blows in its war with Israel and since the fall of Assad
Updated 11 February 2025
TAREK ALI AHMAD
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s new government has been met with cautious optimism by its people, who have endured years of political paralysis, economic crisis, and, most recently, a devastating conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah.
As Beirut’s streets hum with debate, citizens have expressed a mix of hope and skepticism about the leadership of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and the chances he can drag Lebanon out of its myriad crises and achieve a modicum of stability.
“We are cautiously optimistic,” was the common refrain of Lebanese who spoke to Arab News. While many remain wary after decades of corruption and mismanagement, some see the appointment of Salam — a former International Court of Justice judge — and his new cabinet as a potential turning point.
The beginning of 2025 has ushered in a transformative moment for Lebanon, as the country emerges from months of Israeli bombardment. After nearly three years without a president, Lebanon now has a new head of state, along with a government tasked with steering the nation through one of its most challenging periods.
Yet, the shadow of past crises looms large. Lebanon remains deeply entangled in political and economic turmoil. The Lebanese pound has lost more than 90 percent of its value since 2019, plunging a significant portion of the population into poverty.
From Oct. 8, 2023, until the ceasefire on Nov. 26, 2024, Israeli strikes killed at least 3,960 people across Lebanon and injured more than 16,500. (AN photo by Tarek Ali Ahmad)
Hyperinflation, a banking sector collapse, and widespread unemployment have left millions struggling to afford basic necessities.
Decades of corruption and political deadlock have further exacerbated the crisis. The previous government’s failure to implement crucial economic reforms blocked access to international financial aid, leaving the country reliant on dwindling foreign reserves.
Compounding these issues, the recent war between Hezbollah and Israel inflicted additional devastation. From Oct. 8, 2023, until the ceasefire on Nov. 26, 2024, Israeli strikes killed at least 3,960 people across Lebanon and injured more than 16,500.
Much of the Shiite-majority south lies in ruins, adding to the hardship.
Hyperinflation, a banking sector collapse, and widespread unemployment have left millions in Lebanon struggling to afford basic necessities. (AFP)
Against this backdrop, Salam has outlined a vision of “rescue, reform, and rebuild.”
His priorities include stabilizing the economy, securing international aid, and tackling corruption. His proposed technocratic government aims to regain international trust and unlock much-needed funds from institutions like the International Monetary Fund.
Reconstruction is another urgent priority. Southern Lebanon, where infrastructure suffered extensive damage, requires swift rebuilding. Traditionally, Hezbollah has filled this role through its social programs, but its financial resources have been severely diminished by recent losses.
Infrastructure in southern Lebanon suffered extensive damage due to Israeli attacks. (AN photo by Tarek Ali Ahmad)
Salam has pledged to rebuild trust between citizens and the state, as well as between Lebanon and its Arab neighbors and the broader international community. However, his government’s ability to secure external support is uncertain.
The new US administration has signaled it will not back any Lebanese government that includes Hezbollah. Morgan Ortagus, the US deputy special envoy for Middle East peace, warned that allowing Hezbollah to hold significant power would isolate Lebanon and cut off crucial aid.
Similarly, Gulf states have made their assistance conditional on Lebanon forming a government committed to reform.
The US Embassy in Beirut has welcomed the new government, saying “the Lebanese people deserve a government that will rebuild Lebanese state institutions, fight corruption, and implement needed reforms.”
UN chief Antonio Guterres also welcomed the new government, affirming the international body’s commitment to that country’s “territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence,” a spokesman said Sunday.
“The UN looks forward to working in close partnership with the new government on its priorities, including the consolidation of the cessation of hostilities,” said a statement from spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
Morgan Ortagus, the US deputy special envoy for Middle East peace, warned that allowing Hezbollah to hold significant power would isolate Lebanon and cut off crucial aid. (AFP)
Hezbollah and Amal both secured ministries in the new government. However, Hezbollah no longer has veto power or what is referred to as a “blocking third” in the government after its Christian allies, the Free Patriotic Movement, were excluded.
Nevertheless, its ally, the Amal Movement, retains influence. Yassine Jaber, a close associate of Amal leader and parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri, has been appointed finance minister — one of the most powerful positions in the cabinet.
Despite Hezbollah’s weakened state, its presence remains visible. In Shiite-majority areas, yellow Hezbollah flags flutter alongside Amal banners, marking political territory.
“In Lebanon, territorial marking through flags is a well-established political reality,” Ralph Baydoun, director of InflueAnswers, a strategic communications firm in Beirut, told Arab News.
“The country is demographically divided along sectarian lines, and this division is visibly reinforced by political parties using flags and symbols to mark their areas of influence.”
While Hezbollah no longer has veto power, its ally, the Amal Movement, retains influence with Yassine Jaber, a close associate of Amal leader and parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri, being appointed finance minister. (Supplied)
Rebuilding will be particularly challenging in southern Lebanon, which bore the brunt of Israeli strikes. In Nabatiyeh, one of the region’s largest cities, much of the center lies in ruins.
In one area visited by Arab News, a sign hanging over piles of rubble reads: “Because of the destruction, Wehbe Clothes has moved to the main street.” The state of the original store suggests it was obliterated beyond recognition.
Despite the devastation, some businesses have reopened.
“What can we do? We need to get back to work in order to live,” said Ali, a shopkeeper in Nabatiyeh who only gave his first name, fearing reprisals from Hezbollah.
“Those who could fix their stores and clean the damage have done so, but as you can see, there’s no one helping us. Not the government, not Hezbollah, no one.”
A sign hanging over piles of rubble in Nabatiyeh reads: “Because of the destruction, Wehbe Clothes has moved to the main street.” The state of the original store suggests it was obliterated beyond recognition. (AN photo by Tarek Ali Ahmad)
Lebanon’s political stalemate had left the country without a president for over two years until the election of Joseph Aoun on Jan. 9.
That Salam was able to form a government in under a month is a notable achievement in a nation where such processes often drag on for months.
He named his 24 ministers on Feb. 8 after consulting with leaders in a country where power has long been shared according to sectarian quotas. The new government will now prepare for parliamentary elections scheduled for next year.
“I hope this will be a government of reform and salvation,” Salam said in a televised statement moments after his cabinet was announced.
His government will strive to “restore trust between citizens and the state, between Lebanon and its Arab surrounding, and between Lebanon and the international community,” he said.
Salam named his 24 ministers on Feb. 8 after consulting with leaders in a country where power has long been shared according to sectarian quotas. The new government will now prepare for parliamentary elections scheduled for next year. (AFP)
Salam’s cabinet includes five women, among them Tamara Elzein, secretary-general of Lebanon’s National Council for Scientific Research, and Haneen Sayed, a World Bank specialist. Other key appointments include Ghassan Salame, a former UN envoy to Libya.
Before the new government can exercise its powers, however, it needs to draft a ministerial statement that must be submitted to a confidence vote in parliament within 30 days.
For years, Hezbollah dominated Lebanese politics, but suffered major blows in the war with Israel, including the loss of its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in a September airstrike on Beirut.
The conflict erupted on Oct. 8, 2023, when Hezbollah launched cross-border attacks in support of Hamas, which was battling Israel in Gaza. Israel responded with heavy air and artillery strikes, escalating into a full-scale conflict along the Lebanon-Israel border.
The war also drew in regional actors, with Iran supplying Hezbollah and the US supporting Israel. Diplomatic efforts by the UN, France, and Arab states sought de-escalation, while Hezbollah’s military losses, including key commanders, weakened its strategic position.
A ceasefire was finally brokered on Nov. 26, as Hezbollah, under pressure from Lebanon’s economic crisis and international mediators, agreed to halt attacks in exchange for Israeli de-escalation.
The conflict left Hezbollah militarily weakened, Israel more secure on its northern front, and Lebanon struggling with reconstruction. It also reshaped regional power dynamics, with Hezbollah’s influence reduced.
Another shock came with the Dec. 8 ousting of Bashar Assad in the Syrian Arab Republic, which had long served as Hezbollah’s weapons conduit from Iran.
The weakening of Hezbollah allowed former army chief Aoun, seen as Washington’s preferred candidate, to be elected president, paving the way for Salam’s appointment as prime minister.
For many Lebanese, the future remains uncertain. Their cautious optimism reflects a deep yearning for stability but also an awareness of the obstacles ahead. (AFP)
As Lebanon watches anxiously, its new government faces an uphill battle — implementing long-overdue reforms, overseeing the fragile ceasefire with Israel, and rebuilding a shattered nation.
For many Lebanese, the future remains uncertain. Their cautious optimism reflects a deep yearning for stability but also an awareness of the obstacles ahead.
Whether this government can deliver on its promises remains to be seen, but the stakes for Lebanon’s future could not be higher.
Arab states reject Trump plan for Gaza, Egypt FM tells Rubio
Egypt’s foreign ministry said on Monday that the international community should unify behind Palestinians to right “historic injustice”
Updated 10 February 2025
Reuters
WASHINGTON: Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday that Arab states support Palestinians in rejecting US President Donald Trump’s plan to displace Palestinians in Gaza and take control of the enclave.
In a statement, Egypt’s foreign ministry said Abdelatty, in a meeting in Washington, stressed the importance of expediting Gaza’s reconstruction while Palestinians remain there.
Abdelatty, who arrived in Washington on Sunday, said he was looking forward to working with the new US administration to achieve “comprehensive and just peace and stability” in the region, according to the statement.
Any suggestion that Palestinians leave Gaza, which they want as part of an independent state, has been anathema to the Palestinian leadership for generations and neighboring Arab states have rejected it since the Gaza war began in 2023.
Egypt’s foreign ministry said on Monday that the international community should unify behind Palestinians to right “historic injustice” and restore their “legitimate and inalienable rights.”
Trump’s plan has received global condemnation, with regional and global leaders saying such a move would threaten regional stability.
He said in excerpts from a Fox News interview on Monday that Palestinians would not have the right of return to Gaza under his proposal.
