Middle East

President Trump this evening about the situation in the Middle East and why non-essential U.S. personnel and their family members are being moved out.

“Well, they are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place. And, we'll see what happens. But…we've given notice to move out and we'll see what happens...They can't have a nuclear weapon. Very simply. They can't have a nuclear weapon…we’re not gonna allow that.”
 

Houthis sink Liberian cargo ship in Red Sea attack, several crew dead​


Yemen's Houthi rebels have once again targeted maritime traffic in the Red Sea, sinking the Liberian-flagged cargo vessel Eternity C. The attack resulted in at least three crew fatalities, with only six out of the 25 crew members rescued so far. The Houthis have been carrying out assaults on shipping in the Red Sea, framing their campaign as support for the Palestinians amid the ongoing Israeli-Hamas conflict.
 

Trump claimed the Houthis were dead and said “They... will not be blowing up ships any more.”. Now they are more powerful than ever and have sunk two shipping vessels in the last 2 days and their regional alliances grow with other groups.​


Credit: Reuters
A little over two months ago, Donald Trump was emphatic in claiming to have halted Houthi militants’ attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

The US president said the militants had agreed to a ceasefire after a campaign of air strikes which he said had bombed the Iranian-backed group into surrender.


“[The Houthis] just don’t want to fight, and we will honour that and we will stop the bombings, and they have capitulated,” he said on May 6. “They say they will not be blowing up ships any more.”

Despite Mr Trump’s confidence, this week the Houthis have sunk two vessels in quick succession on the critical shipping route and shattered months of relative calm off Yemen’s coast.

The sinking of Magic Seas, a Liberian-flagged and Greek-operated vessel, was followed by a two-day assault on another Greek bulk carrier, the Eternity C, which sank on Wednesday.

The attacks – broadcast to the world in slick Hollywood-style videos – have once again led to traffic dropping and insurance costs surging in one of the world’s main marine arteries.

The Houthi resurgence has taken some nations by surprise, especially after its biggest backer – Iran – was hit first by Israel and then by US B2 bombers.

But through careful alliance building, ruthless extortion rackets and more independence, the group is more powerful than it has been in years.
Trump claimed the Houthis were dead. Now they are more powerful than ever

Resilience against air strikes​

This week’s attacks, which the Houthis said were conducted in solidarity with the Palestinians, not only show the hollowness of Mr Trump’s supposed ceasefire, but also the resilience of the militant group and the limits of air strikes, experts say.

The Houthis have survived years of strikes and become adept at hiding their military equipment. They have also broadened alliances and supply lines to try to wean themselves off support from Iran.


Mr Trump’s declaration of victory in May was murky from the start, according to Wolf-Christian Paes, of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

While Mr Trump had publicly said the Houthis had agreed to stop attacks, the group itself had continued to say it would attack vessels linked to Israel and its allies.

Any deal between the two was in fact probably only restricted to US vessels, he said.

The American-led campaign of air strikes that Mr Trump claimed had “decimated” the Houthis had also been less effective than the president might have boasted, experts said.

A two-year campaign of strikes conducted under Joe Biden and then Mr Trump is estimated to have cost at least $7 billion.

The Houthis had already weathered years of air attacks from Saudi-led forces and had become used to hiding their weapons to conduct mobile hit-and-run strikes.


The recent strikes also showed the range of military options that the Houthis have for hitting vessels. While they have been reliant on Iran for high-end missile technology, they can manufacture drones and deploy small boats themselves.

Explosive charges were carefully placed around the Magic Seas carrier and detonated remotely to make it sink to the sea floor.

Farea Al-Muslimi, a research fellow at the Chatham House think tank, said: “The Houthis will continue for a long time to be able to strike. Their military power is beyond what anyone can imagine or think.”

Certainly, their methods have evolved. Martin Kelly, the head of advisory at EOS Risk Group, told The Telegraph: “The Houthis are the first actors in the world to successfully engage a ship using an anti-ship ballistic missile. Not a state actor, not Iran, not Russia, not China, but the Houthis.”


He noted that their range of weapons has grown too, with a fresh focus on unmanned vehicles.

Drones, Mr Kelly said, “can be flown into a ship with a relatively small warhead, but can cause significant damage, particularly if it’s to hit the bridge or it was to breach the hull of a vessel”.

Unmanned surface vessels, he added, are possibly “the most dangerous type of weapon that the Houthis can use”.


These are speedboats packed with explosives that can be directed by remote control and driven into the side of a ship, making a hole at water level and causing the ships to sink more quickly.

One Iranian official also claimed to The Telegraph that the group had become increasingly independent. They said: “We used to support them a lot, but now they have their own plans.


“They’ve seen that neither Trump nor Israel could stop them, so they think – why not sink a few more ships?

“They do it for domestic reasons. They’re not very popular among Yemenis, but Yemenis like Palestine, so taking action for Gaza boosts [the Houthis’] popularity.

“We believe they’re bolder now because they’ve learnt that when the US or Israel bombs them, it doesn’t really stop their plans. Their strikes do nothing to stop them.”

The group may also have a financial incentive for stepping up attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

Last year, United Nations experts said the Houthis were allegedly collecting as much as $180 million each month from shipping agencies to allow vessels to sail through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden without being attacked.


While the report was questioned by maritime safety experts, such income would be one of the Houthis’ main revenue streams.

New alliances​

As part of widening their alliances, the group has reportedly built ties with the Al Shabaab group on the Somali side of the Gulf of Aden.

The alliance has given the Houthis access to a network of ports such as Bosaso along the Somali coast, broadening out supply routes to smuggle arms into Yemen, according to the Pentagon’s Africa Centre for Strategic Studies.

Resuming attacks not only raises the group’s international profile, but also helps deflect criticism from inside their own territory where the group has a woeful record governing.
 
Ten people, many of them children, were killed in a strike at a water distribution site in central Gaza on Sunday, local health officials said, in a deadly incident the Israeli military said was the result of a “technical error” with a munition. https://wapo.st/3IHgpZ3
 


Pope reacts after Israeli strike Hits The Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza killing the church custodian, a church parishioner and injuring the church priest.

Pope Leo XIV mourned on Thursday after an attack that hit the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza, where two people were reported killed and several injured by an apparent Israeli strike.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the incident was "under review", that the forces try to avoid harm to civilians and civilian structures, including religious sites, and regret any damage.

Newsweek contacted the IDF and the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem for further information.

"His Holiness Pope Leo XIV was deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack on the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza," a statement by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, read, adding: "His Holiness renews his call for an immediate ceasefire."

The Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem said the parish pope was injured.

Why It Matters​

The Holy Family Church, Gaza's only Catholic church, is the same parish that the late Pope Francis frequently contacted during his papacy. Video footage often showed him speaking to the church's children and parishioners via live link, offering prayers and encouragement during past escalations in Gaza.

What To Know​

The church hosted clergy and hundreds of sheltering Palestinians including children, amid the war in Gaza. Eyewitnesses reported that the church seemed to have been struck by Israeli tank fire, according to media reports.

An 84-year-old woman and the parish's 60-year-old janitor were killed in the strike while the parish priest, Father Romanelli, was lightly injured, the Associated Press reported.


Dozens of Palestinians were killed Thursday in several Israeli strikes on Gaza. Israel's military campaign to eliminate Hamas and bring home Israeli hostages, launched after the group's deadly October 2023 attack on Israel, has devastated Gaza, leaving the enclave grappling with severe hunger and widespread deprivation.


What People Are Saying​

Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem on Facebook: "The Holy Family Church in Gaza has been struck by a raid this morning. here are several injuries in the place including the Parish Priest Fr. Gabriel Romanelli. Currently there no fatalities confirmed. The Church sustained damage."

Israel Defense Forces on X: "The IDF is aware of reports regarding damage caused to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and casualties at the scene. The circumstances of the incident are under review. The IDF makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and civilian structures, including religious sites, and regrets any damage caused to them."

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State: "His Holiness Pope Leo XIV was deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack on the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza, and he assures the parish priest, Father Gabriele Romanelli, and the whole parish community of his spiritual closeness. In commending the souls of the deceased to the loving mercy of Almighty God, the Holy Father prays for the consolation of those who grieve and for the recovery of the injured. His Holiness renews his call for an immediate ceasefire, and he expresses his profound hope for dialogue, reconciliation and enduring peace in the region."

What Happens Next
Mediators including the U.S., Egypt and Qatar are still pursuing efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Neither side appears ready to give way on core demands.
 

Mike Huckabee US Ambassador to Israel threatens to declare Israel not welcoming to Christians​

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has threatened to publicly declare that Israel no longer welcomes Christian groups to Israel over what he said was Jerusalem’s failure to approve tourist visas for evangelical missions.

The threat was issued in a letter that Huckabee sent on Wednesday to Interior Minister Moshe Arbel, which was leaked to Hebrew media on Thursday. Arbel pushed back on the allegations in a response letter that was obtained by The Times of Israel.

link
 

Trump called Netanyahu after 2 Killed and Multiple injured in Catholic Church hit by IDF. Netanyahu agreed to state it was a mistake​


S President Donald Trump called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following an Israeli strike that killed three people inside a Catholic church in Gaza City, the White House says.

During the call, Netanyahu agreed to issue a statement explaining that the strike was a mistake, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says during a press briefing.


Netanyahu has yet to issue such a statement, but Israel’s Foreign Ministry has.

Asked what Trump’s reaction was to the Israeli strike, Leavitt responds, “It was not a positive reaction.”

The post White House: After church strike, Trump called Netanyahu, who has agreed to state it was a mistake appeared first on The Times of Israel.
 

Trump called Netanyahu after 2 Killed and Multiple injured in Catholic Church hit by IDF. Netanyahu agreed to state it was a mistake​


S President Donald Trump called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following an Israeli strike that killed three people inside a Catholic church in Gaza City, the White House says.

During the call, Netanyahu agreed to issue a statement explaining that the strike was a mistake, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says during a press briefing.


Netanyahu has yet to issue such a statement, but Israel’s Foreign Ministry has.

Asked what Trump’s reaction was to the Israeli strike, Leavitt responds, “It was not a positive reaction.”

The post White House: After church strike, Trump called Netanyahu, who has agreed to state it was a mistake appeared first on The Times of Israel.
I doubt you can hit most churches by mistake.
 

Pro-Israel senator Lindsey Graham, demands penalty for Israeli settlers who burn Catholic Church and Cemetery in Gaza. 2nd Christian Church destroyed in Gaza in the last week.​



US Senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch supporter of Israel, said Sunday that he was “incredibly upset” by reported settler violence that reached the ruins of a historic church in the West Bank.

“There was a Catholic Church burned in the West Bank,” the South Carolina Republican said in an interview on Fox News. He was referring to a brush fire reportedly set by Jewish extremists that came up to the walls of the 5th-century Church of St. George compound in the town of Taybeh, as well as the nearby Christian cemetery.


Graham said he would send a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government demanding an account of the incident.

Graham is the latest longtime pro-Israel Republican to call out Israeli mistreatment of Christians. The Fox interview aired a day after Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, visited Taybeh and likewise demanded consequences for the fire, calling the desecration of houses of worship a “crime against humanity and God.”


Days earlier, Israeli tank fire damaged a Catholic church in Gaza and killed three people in what the Israeli military says was an accident, prompting an angry phone call from US President Donald Trump to Netanyahu.

Link
MSN
 
1. Oklahoma man, family executed in Syria
Oklahoma Senators James Lankford and Markwayne Mullin are speaking out after Hosam Saraya, a Syrian-American from Oklahoma, was executed in Syria alongside members of his family.

Saraya was one of eight men killed, according to CNN. He was part of the Druze religious community, a small ethnic group mostly found in parts of the Middle East. The U.S. State Department has not released further details, but travel advisories for Syria remain at a Level 4: Do Not Travel.

“Cindy and I are heartbroken by the death of Hosam Saraya. We are praying for his family, friends, and the entire community as they grieve this senseless loss,” Senator Lankford said in a statement.
Senator Mullin says he is working with Governor Kevin Stitt to learn more about what happened.
 
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