US launches new strikes on Yemen

The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) has said it launched new strikes on Yemen, targeting a fuel station in Ras Isa that it said was supplying fuel to the Houthis.

“Today, US forces took action to eliminate this source of fuel for the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists and deprive them of illegal revenue that has funded Houthi efforts to terrorize the entire region for over 10 years,” CENTCOM said.

“The objective of these strikes was to degrade the economic source of power of the Houthis, who continue to exploit and bring great pain upon their fellow countrymen.”

Massive fire at Ras Isa port in Yemen after US strike

Videos posted by Yemeni activists, and verified by Al Jazeera, show a massive fire at Ras Isa port in Yemen’s Hodeidah province. The US military’s Central Command, CENTCOM, earlier said it targeted a station supplying fuel to the Houthis.

ألسنة اللهب تتصاعد في محيط ميناء راس عيسى النفطي عقب القصف الامريكي للمنشآت مساء اليوم.

Flames are rising around the Ras Issa oil port following the U.S. airstrike on the facilities this evening. pic.twitter.com/edhY6koj8h

— بسيم الجناني Basem Ganani (@Basem_Ganani) April 17, 2025

Timeline: Recent US attacks on Yemen

In January, the US paused its bombing campaign when the Houthi rebels stopped their Red Sea attacks amid a ceasefire in Gaza.

However, US strikes resumed under President Trump in March as the Yemeni group threatened to renew its military operations if Israel did not lift its nearly seven-week blockade of Gaza.

Here is a timeline of recent US attacks across Yemen:

US attack on Yemen oil port kills at least 22 people

Houthi-affiliated media outlet Al Masirah TV reports that 22 people are confirmed dead, including five paramedics who were at the scene tending to fires caused by earlier US strikes.

According to Rashid Maarouf, a journalist affiliated with the Yemen National Army, the military forces of the internationally recognised Republic of Yemen government, said many victims were in the area looking for their relatives after earlier US strikes.

“There were victims who fell in the port as a result of the first raids, and many of the families headed to the port to search for their missing relatives,” he wrote in a post on X.

“When the people gathered and the ambulances arrived, the US navy targeted everyone again and a second massacre occurred. The situation now in the port is very difficult and tragic. Even the ambulances were targeted,” Maarouf added.

_{People gather at the site where Palestinian man Ghassan Asaliya, his wife and all five of their children were killed in an Israeli strike on their tent, according to medics}


Hundreds of Israeli veterans sign new petition for halting Gaza war

Israeli media outlet Haaretz is reporting that “hundreds of veterans from the Golani Brigade signed a new petition calling for the return of the captives, even at the cost of halting the war in Gaza”.

Additionally, around 315 graduates of the Israeli army’s infantry and special forces units signed another petition echoing the same demands.

Hamas ready to release all captives in return for an end to war

Hamas’s Gaza chief has said the group is ready to negotiate to swap all captives with an agreed number of Palestinian prisoners within a deal that ends the war.

In a televised speech, Khalil al-Hayya, who leads the Hamas negotiating team for the indirect talks with Israel, said the group refuses an interim truce but is ready to hold talks on a deal whereby Israel ends the war and withdraws its troops from the enclave.

Al-Hayya said interim deals were “a cover” for Netanyahu’s “continued genocide” and claimed it was Hamas’s right to have weapons as long as Israel continued its occupation of Palestinian territory.

Israeli minister says time has come to implement Trump’s Gaza plan

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said Israel would not halt the war before accomplishing a “complete victory” in Gaza, which includes the destruction of Hamas and the return of all captives.

“The time has come to open the gates of hell on Hamas, to deepen the fighting until the complete occupation of the Strip, the elimination of Hamas, and the implementation of President Trump’s plan for the voluntary exit and rehabilitation of Gazans in another country,” he wrote on X. “Mr. Prime Minister, go ahead. Give the order.”

Situation in Gaza among ‘worst humanitarian failures’, NGOs warn

The humanitarian aid system in Gaza is “facing total collapse” due to Israel’s blockade on aid and supplies, ongoing since March 2, the heads of 12 major aid organisations have warned, urging Israel to let them “do our jobs”.

“This is one of the worst humanitarian failures of our generation,” the chief executives of 12 NGOs, including Oxfam and Save the Children, wrote in a statement.

Israel has promised to maintain its blockage on humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged territory, arguing it is the only way to force Hamas to release the 58 captives still held there.

“Every single person in Gaza is relying on humanitarian aid to survive …That lifeline has been completely cut off since a blockade on all aid supplies was imposed by Israeli authorities on March 2.”

Lifesaving services in Gaza ‘on the brink of total collapse’: UN

Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN chief, said “humanitarian supplies are nearing total depletion” after Israel stopped entry of cargo, including humanitarian aid, into Gaza on March 2.

“The lifesaving services are on the brink of a total collapse,” Dujarric said. “For example, in Gaza City, only three ambulances for the Palestinian Red Crescent Society out of 30 are currently operational, and that’s due to the lack of fuel to operate those ambulances.”

He added that ongoing hostilities and dwindling aid supplies have “driven up the stress levels”. “Especially among children with mental health needs, [needs are] growing by the day,” he said.

ICRC ‘outraged’ after Gaza premises damaged by explosive

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said it was “outraged” that its premises in Gaza were damaged by an explosive on Wednesday. “This is the second such incident in three weeks,” the organisation said on X, adding that a second location was struck by a tank shell on March 24. ICRC did not disclose where its facilities were located.

“Both incidents occurred despite the buildings being clearly marked and regularly notified to all parties,” it said. “We condemn in the strongest terms any action that inhibits our ability to do our work and risks the lives of humanitarian workers.”

The last 24 hours were deadly for children in Gaza.  

Airstrikes on tents in Gaza reportedly killed 15 children, including a child with disabilities who burned to death. 

Images of children burning while sheltering in makeshift tents should shake us all to our core. pic.twitter.com/UiIEM7yl5X

— Catherine Russell (@unicefchief) April 17, 2025

Main events on April 17th

Portrait of a Palestinian boy wins the World Press Photo of the year

The horrors of the war in Gaza are very much present at the opening of the world press exhibition here in Amsterdam, especially because the winning photo, just as last year, is a photo from Gaza.

It shows a 9-year-old boy, Mahmoud, who was severely wounded trying to escape an Israeli attack. He was actually going back to try to encourage his family to run faster when it happened, and he lost both his arms.

After the incident, he was evacuated to Qatar, where Samar Abu Elouf, the photographer, met him. The photo was taken in Doha.

She took it very quickly as she didn’t want to disturb him too much, and it turned out to be a photo that attracted a lot of people’s attention, because it’s a beautiful picture of a very beautiful boy, but then you realise that both his arms are missing.

The jury has also said it gives a dehumanising war with industrial-scale destruction a face, and that’s what this photo does, without actually showing the violence itself.


_{Mahmoud Ajjour (9), who was injured during an Israeli attack on Gaza City in March 2024, finds refuge and medical help in Doha, Qatar, June 28, 2024 [Credit: © Samar Abu Elouf, for The New York Times]}

Unbelievable, while the world stays silent. The worlds fkd.

Death toll from US attacks on Yemen rises again

The Houthi-affiliated al-Masirah channel quoted the Hodeidah Health Office as saying that the death toll in the overnight US attacks on Ras Isa port has now gone up to 80. At least 150 people have also been wounded.

The attacks are among the deadliest since the US launched air raids on Yemen after Trump took office in January.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/18/middleeast/dozens-killed-us-airstrikes-yemen-intl-hnk/index.html


Houthis say they fired missile at Israeli airport

Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree says the group fired a ballistic missile at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport earlier today.

He added that the group also shot down a US drone that was carrying out “hostile acts” around the Sanaa governorate.

Earlier, we reported that Israeli authorities said a ballistic missile had been fired from Yemen and that the country’s air defences had intercepted the missile. No casualties were reported.

US Muslim group condemns deadly attacks on Yemen

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has slammed the deadly US attacks on Yemen that have killed at least 74 people and injured more than 170.

“Destroying a fuel port full of civilian workers and then reportedly bombing paramedics when they arrived to rescue survivors is a war crime, plain and simple,” CAIR Deputy Executive Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said in a statement.

Mitchell noted that Trump had promised to end US wars, but he accused the president of “entangling” the country “in a new forever war for the benefit of the out-of-control Israeli government, which treats our nation like a piggy bank”.

“This is an Israel First foreign policy, not an America First foreign policy,” Mitchell said.

“This regional conflict would end if the genocide in Gaza ends, which is why President Trump should force Netanyahu to accept a permanent ceasefire deal that frees all captives and ends the genocide for good.”

New US attacks hit Yemen’s capital

Multiple US raids have struck the al-Hafa area in Sanaa’s al-Sabeen district, Houthi-affiliated news outlet Al Masirah TV is reporting.

The Bani Hashish district, located in Sanaa governorate, was also targeted with four raids, Al Masirah said.

ICRC in Yemen says providing body bags following US attacks

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says it is responding to “urgent requests by health facilities” in Yemen following US air strikes on the Ras Isa oil port that killed at least 80 people.

“The ICRC has provided medical teams to treat the wounded [and] body bags for dignified management of the dead,” it said.

The agency also called on “all parties to respect and protect civilians, including medics, emergency responders, and civilian infrastructure” in line with international law.

Following recent airstrikes on Yemen’s Hodeida, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is responding to urgent requests by health facilities. The ICRC has provided medical items to treat the wounded & body bags for dignified management of the dead. pic.twitter.com/yz5aXKvik0

— ICRC Yemen (@ICRC_ye) April 18, 2025

More US attacks target Yemen

The Houthi-affiliated media Al Masirah TV is now reporting three US raids on the Saada governorate in northwest Yemen.

US forces also targeted Bart al-Anan and Khab and Ash-Shaaf districts in al-Jawf governorate with four raids.

Israeli settler attacks continue in the occupied West Bank

Israeli settlers have attacked Palestinians on their land in the town of Biddya, in the Salfit governorate in the occupied West Bank, according to our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic. The Palestine Red Crescent said that a Palestinian was injured in the attack.

Local sources also told our colleagues that dozens of settlers stormed Jabal al-Urma, a hill in the town of Beita in the Nablus governorate under the protection of the Israeli army. Settlers are Israeli citizens who live illegally on private Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Israeli settler attacks reported in the West Bank

We’re getting reports of Israeli military and settler attacks in several locations across the occupied West Bank.

1/4 Diplomats from 🇧🇪🇨🇦🇩🇰🇪🇺🇫🇮🇫🇷🇮🇪🇮🇹🇳🇱🇩🇪🇪🇸🇸🇪🇬🇧 showed support with Palestinian community members in Umm al-Khair and Jinba, Masafer Yatta, after recent large-scale attacks and vandalism by settlers and members of the IDF. Such attacks are unacceptable. pic.twitter.com/hKWE4S6g5E

— UK in Jerusalem🇬🇧 (@UKinJerusalem) April 18, 2025

Second Israeli drone strike on Lebanon kills one more person

Lebanon’s Health Ministry says one person was killed in a drone strike targeting a vehicle travelling on a road between the border villages of Aita ash-Shaab and Rmeish.

Earlier today, another Israeli strike targeting a car south of Sidon also killed one person.

Israel claims both of those killed were Hezbollah members. There has not been any comment yet from the Lebanese group.

🚨السيارة المستهدفة على اوتوستراد الغازية في جنوب لبنان pic.twitter.com/0PzJC6lqHl

— bintjbeil.org (@bintjbeilnews) April 18, 2025

Hezbollah pledges to retain arms until Israel ceases hostilities in southern Lebanon

A Hezbollah official says the group categorically refuses to discuss handing over its weapons to Lebanon’s army unless Israel withdraws completely from the south and stops its “aggression”.

“It is not a question of disarming,” Wafiq Safa said in an interview with Hezbollah’s Al Nur radio station. “What the president [Joseph Aoun] said in his inauguration speech is a defensive strategy.”

A ceasefire agreement in November ended more than a year of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, sparked by the war in Gaza, that included two months of open warfare.

Safa said Hezbollah had conveyed its position to Aoun, who on Tuesday said he sought “to make 2025 the year of restricting arms to the state” alone.

“Wouldn’t it be logical for Israel to first withdraw, then release the prisoners, then cease its aggression … and then we discuss a defensive strategy?” he asked in the interview.

US moving to have fewer than 1,000 troops in Syria in coming months

The Pentagon says the “consolidation” of US troops in Syria “reflects the significant steps” made to degrade the “appeal and operational capability” of ISIL (ISIS) in the region and around the world.

“As this consolidation takes place, consistent with President Trump’s commitment to peace through strength, US Central Command will remain poised to continue strikes against the remnants of ISIS in Syria,” the department said in a statement.

“We will also work closely with capable and willing Coalition partners to maintain pressure on ISIS and respond to any other terrorist threats that arise.”

The US started sending troops to Syria in 2014 with the stated objective of defeating ISIL, but American forces remained in the country after the group’s territorial defeat in 2017.

Gaza’s civil defence warns vehicles are running out of fuel

The fuel shortage could force the agency – which carries out emergency and rescue services in Gaza – to halt operations “within the next few days”, it said in a post on Telegram.

“We call for pressure on the Israeli occupation authorities to allow the entry of sufficient quantities of fuel,” said the civil defence.

Israel has not allowed any fuel, or food or medicine for that matter, into the Gaza Strip since early March. A top Israeli official said earlier this week that it will continue to blockade Gaza as a means to force Hamas to release the remaining Israeli captives.

Three killed as Israel attacks Gaza City

Our colleagues are reporting that three Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli air attack on a house on as-Sikka Street in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City.

Six killed by strike on Khan Younis barber shop: Reports

An Israeli air raid has hit a makeshift barber shop in central Khan Younis, killing at least six people, reports the Wafa news agency. The victims include two brothers and several children, according to local media sources.

Two children killed in north Gaza attack

Israeli forces have carried out an attack in northern Gaza’s as-Saftawi area, killing at least four people. Two children are among the victims, report our colleagues on the ground.

Heavy artillery fire in eastern Gaza City

We’re getting reports from Gaza City suggesting that the eastern areas are witnessing heavy bombardment. The Israeli army is operating in these areas, engaging in confrontations with Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups.

Israeli forces bomb tents for displaced in southern Gaza again

Gaza’s Civil Defence is reporting casualties as Israeli forces bomb tents for displaced people in al-Mawasi area of ​​Khan Younis.

One killed, 20 wounded in Israeli attack on Khan Younis

One person has been killed and 20 wounded, including 15 children, by the Israeli bombing of the Abu Shamala family home in Khan Younis. Medical sources tell Al Jazeera that at least 58 people have been killed by Israeli attacks across Gaza since dawn on Friday.

Israel’s ultranationalist minister Ben-Gvir say ‘no aid’, only ‘pressure’ for Gaza

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said there will be no ceasefire deal with Hamas and no humanitarian aid will enter the war-torn enclave where some two million people are facing starvation.

Posting on social media, Ben-Gvir said “Hamas will not set conditions”.

“It will surrender to them,” he said.

“No deal, no ceasefire, no aid – just continued fighting until [Hamas] are defeated in Gaza,” he wrote.

Ben-Gvir also called for increasing the “pressure” as aid agencies warn that conditions for the survival of Palestinians in Gaza are deteriorating due to a nearly 50-day blockade by Israeli forces on all humanitarian supplies – including food, medicine, fuel and water – from entering the war-torn enclave.

“Exert all the power and might – until Hamas begs on its knees. Until complete victory,” Ben-Gvir wrote, a day after Israel’s defence minister said it was a state policy to starve Gaza in order to force Hamas to capitulate.

WFP warns of acute hunger risk for hundreds of thousands in Gaza

The World Food Programme (WFP) has issued an urgent warning about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, saying hundreds of thousands of residents face an acute risk of hunger.

“Two million people in Gaza, most of them displaced and without income, rely entirely on food assistance,” the WFP stated in a post on X. “As stocks dwindle and borders remain closed, Gaza needs food now.”

Two million people in #Gaza - most of them displaced and without income - rely entirely on food assistance.

As stocks dwindle and borders remain closed, Gaza needs food now. pic.twitter.com/YpviuVJklR

— World Food Programme (@WFP) April 18, 2025

Haaretz: Israel must stop starving Gaza

In an editorial titled “Israel must stop starving Gaza”, Haaretz said “Israel’s starvation of more than two million Palestinians has been fully normalised.

“This policy is based on a populist and false narrative that links humanitarian aid for Gazans to Hamas’ military capabilities. The result is a continuing humanitarian crime,” it wrote, adding that starvation had “become an openly declared policy and even a source of pride”.

On March 18, Israeli authorities blocked the entry of desperately needed humanitarian aid once again. The blockade is currently ongoing.

Haaretz argued that the suffering and death caused by Israel’s policy of starvation in Gaza “don’t advance any of the war’s objectives” and the deaths of children due to malnutrition and disease “won’t lead to the release of the hostages or the downfall of Hamas”.