HODEIDAH, Yemen: The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen warned allies of Israel Wednesday that their shipping in the Bab Al-Mandab Strait at the entrance to the Red Sea is a “legitimate target.”
The warning comes after the Houthis on Sunday seized an Israel-linked cargo vessel, opening a new dimension in the Gaza war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
Helicopter-borne troops seized the Galaxy Leader and its 25 international crew days after the Houthis threatened to target Israeli shipping because of the war.

CAIRO: Midway through a recent evening in Cairo, a worker cleaned tables in an empty McDonald’s restaurant. Branches of other Western fast-food chains in the Egyptian capital also appeared deserted.

All have been hit by a boycott campaign over Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Western brands are feeling the impact in Egypt and Jordan, and there are signs the campaign is spreading in some other Arab countries including Kuwait and Morocco.

GENEVA/JERUSALEM/BERLIN: Fuel shortages and worsening sanitation in the Gaza Strip are shaping up to be the perfect storm for tragedy through the spread of disease, the UN warned on Tuesday.

UNICEF, the UN children’s agency, said there was a serious threat of a mass disease outbreak in the besieged Palestinian territory.

“Without enough fuel, we will see the collapse of sanitation services. So we have then, on top of the mortars and the bombs, a perfect storm for the spread of disease.

JERUSALEM: Three weeks ago, the Israeli military unveiled a detailed 3D model of Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital — showing a series of underground installations that it said was part of an elaborate Hamas command and control center under the territory’s largest healthcare center.

AMMAN: Jordan said on Tuesday the army had beefed up its presence along its borders with Israel and warned that any Israeli attempt to forcibly push Palestinians across the Jordan River would represent a breach of its peace accord with its neighbor.
Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh said his country would resort to “all the means in its power” to prevent Israel from implementing any transfer policy to expel Palestinians en masse from the West Bank.