Main events on March 16th
- Houthi-affiliated media reported two new attacks on the Red Sea port of Hodeidah as the death toll from the US’s air raids on Sunday rose to 53. The victims included five children and two women.
- The Yemeni rebels claimed a missile and drone attack on the US aircraft carrier Harry S Truman after promising to meet “escalation with escalation”. US officials denied any hits on the vessel.
- Israel continued its attacks and punishing blockade on Gaza, killing a 62-year-old man, as an Israeli delegation travelled to Cairo to discuss the details of the Gaza ceasefire with Egyptian officials.
- US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth promised to keep up the “unrelenting” attacks on the Houthis until the rebel group backed down on its threat to resume attacks on Israel-linked ships in the Red Sea.
- The US’s attacks drew global concern, with the United Nations calling for “utmost restraint and cessation of all military activities” in Yemen and Russia, urging an end to the use of force and the “importance for all sides to engage in political dialogue”.
- Iran promised to respond “decisively and destructively” if targeted after US President Donald Trump threatened Tehran and told it to stop supporting the Houthis.
Israeli negotiators in Cairo as Netanyahu tries to fire Shin Bet chief
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that an Israeli delegation is currently in the Egyptian capital meeting with mediators to try and bridge some of those gaps between Israel and Hamas.
They’ve been at an impasse over disagreements about phase two of the deal.
The Israelis say they’ve accepted a proposal, outlined by the US envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, that calls for an additional 50-day pause in the fighting, in exchange for half of the Israeli captives still held in Gaza, both alive and dead.
Hamas has said that they want to move forward with phase two, which would ultimately mean an end of the war.
However, that’s not something Israel is willing to commit to.
In another turn of events, the Israeli prime minister says that he intends to fire the head of the Shin Bet – that’s Israel’s internal security agency – saying he doesn’t trust him to carry out his duties.
The attorney general has penned a letter to the Israeli premier, saying that the legality of all of this needs to be assessed before Netanyahu can make a decision like this.
Nonetheless, within Netanyahu’s far-right coalition, this is something that is being applauded.
The Shin Bet chief, Ronen Bar, has responded, saying that he intends to carry out his duties until all of the captives are brought back from Gaza.
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