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Houthis Claim to Attack US Aircraft Carrier, Retaliating for Strikes
Newly recruited fighters who joined a Houthi military force intended to be sent to fight in support of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, march during a parade in Sanaa, Yemen, Dec. 2, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
i24 News – The Houthis claimed on Sunday that they targeted the aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman and other vessels in the northern Red Sea with 18 ballistic and cruise missiles and a drone. Military spokesperson Yahya Saree said that the US-led attacks against the Houthis on Saturday comprised of more than 47 airstrikes on seven governorates, with the death toll expected to rise.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces will not hesitate to target all American warships in the Red Sea and in the Arabian Sea in retaliation to the aggression against our country,” Saree said, vowing the Houthis “will continue to impose a naval blockade on the Israeli enemy and ban its ships in the declared zone of operations until aid and basic needs are delivered to the Gaza Strip.”
The post Houthis Claim to Attack US Aircraft Carrier, Retaliating for Strikes first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Palestinian Authority PM: Oct. 7 Was ‘Daring Operation’ and ‘Unprecedented in History’
Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas (L) , with then-PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh sitting next to him, delivers a speech, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Jan. 28, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Raneen Sawafta / File.
When former Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister and Fatah Central Committee member Muhammad Shtayyeh recently was asked about Hamas’ massacre and atrocities against Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023, he smilingly described how he woke up on Oct. 7 to “indescribable scenes.”
But the word “indescribable” did not reflect any horror or rejection of the Hamas terrorists’ murder, rape, and torture of Israelis civilians.
Instead, what was beyond description for then-PA Prime Minister Shtayyeh was the sight of Hamas’ success:
Former PA Prime Minister and Fatah Central Committee member Muhammad Shtayyeh: “I woke up [on Oct. 7, 2023] and… [saw] indescribable scenes: paragliders, border breaches, motorcycles in action, bodies lying around, fires here and there, people returning from the 1948 borders [i.e., Israel] [to the Gaza Strip], people loading things…
The news initially spoke of the killing of 1,400 Israelis within 24 hours. The battle continues, airstrikes, enormous confusion, surprise in Israel.”
[Al-Arabiya TV, YouTube channel, July 29, 2025]
Asked how he would define “the Oct. 7 operation,” Shtayyeh continued to marvel at it, praising it as “daring” and “an important chapter” in Palestinian history.
Next, Shtayyeh continued to endorse the terror attack as “self-defense.”
When asked whether the PA had “condemned Oct. 7,” he answered that the PA had issued a statement saying that “the Palestinian people has the right to defend itself”:
Muhammad Shtayyeh: “In a meeting held on Oct. 7, we [the PA] issued a statement, and one sentence was added to the statement: ‘The Palestinian people has the right to defend itself.’
All the official Palestinian entities, our ambassadors, our ministers, the [PA] presidential office spokesperson, and [I] the prime minister, everyone, all of us were asked one question. The first question that every journalist and every official element opened with was: “Do you condemn Oct. 7?”
And we used to answer in the same way: That the Palestinian people’s tragedy did not start on Oct. 7, that the Palestinian issue is 76 years old, since 1948, and therefore these are cumulative events, and in any case we believed that the matter [Oct.7] is one of the chapters of the struggle, and one of the chapters of the conflict.” …
Al-Arabiya TV host:“How would you define the Oct. 7 operation now?”
Muhammad Shtayyeh: “Look, the Oct. 7 operation is a daring operation, unprecedented in history, honestly, and it is an important chapter in the history of the Palestinian struggle.” [emphasis added]
[Al-Arabiya TV, YouTube channel, July 29, 2025]
The author is a contributor to Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this story first appeared.
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Some 800,000 Palestinians Evacuate from Gaza City as Israeli Defense Minister Says Operation to Ramp Up
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz looks on, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Jerusalem, Nov. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday that more than 750,000 Palestinian residents of Gaza City have fled to safe areas as the IDF ramps up its operation against one of the last major Hamas strongholds in the enclave. The military subsequently revised the figure up to 800,000.
Katz said Israel ramped up the attacks, proceeding to what he called the “decisive” phase of its operation.
“Autonomous explosive-laden military vehicles are being deployed in advance of the troops to defuse explosives, and the fire cover to protect the troops from the air and ground is heavy and strong,” he posted to his account on the X platform.
“Gaza City is emptying because its residents realize the military operation is escalating and move south for their own safety,” said Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman.
The Israeli military was in control of over half of Gaza City, sources familiar with the matter told Israeli media on Saturday.
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Trump Says ‘We Will Get It Done’ in the Middle East
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the press on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
US President Donald Trump expressed optimism on Sunday about reaching a deal to end the war in Gaza, saying there is “a real chance for greatness in the Middle East,” ahead of talks on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump did not provide specific details of a prospective ceasefire-for-hostages agreement in Gaza, but Vice President JD Vance told “Fox News Sunday” that top US officials are immersed in “very complicated” negotiations with Israeli and Arab leaders.
“We have a real chance for Greatness in the Middle East. All are on board for something special, first time ever. We will get it done,” Trump said in a Truth Social post that was issued as he rode in his motorcade to his suburban Virginia golf club.
Trump will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday at the White House with the aim of reaching a framework for a deal, according to administration officials.
Trump said on Friday talks on Gaza with Middle Eastern nations were intense and that Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants were aware of the discussions, which he said would continue as long as required.
Vance described himself as “cautiously hopeful” about reaching a deal.
“I feel more optimistic about where we are right now than where we have been at any point in the last few months, but let’s be realistic, these things can get derailed at the very last minute,” he said.
He said the plan has three main components: Returning all hostages, ending the Hamas threat to Israel, and escalating humanitarian aid in Gaza.
“So I think we’re close to accomplishing all three of those objectives,” Vance said.
When international leaders gathered at the United Nations in New York this week, the US unveiled a 21-point Middle East peace plan to end the nearly two-year-long war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
That plan calls for the return of all hostages, living and dead, no further Israeli attacks on Qatar and a new dialogue between Israel and Palestinians for “peaceful coexistence,” a White House official said.
Israel angered Qataris by launching an airstrike against Hamas targets in their capital Doha on September 9.
A Hamas representative said on Saturday that the group had not seen the US plan.