The Israeli military yesterday deployed missile boats in the Red Sea as reinforcements, a day after the Iran-aligned Houthi movement said it had launched missile and drone attacks on Israel and vowed to carry out more.
Images disseminated by the military showed Saar-class corvettes patrolling near Eilat port in the Red Sea, which Israel sees as a new front as its war in Gaza draws retaliation from Iran-aligned pro-Hamas forces elsewhere in the region.
A first group of civilian evacuees from Gaza crossed into Egypt under a Qatari-mediated deal yesterday while Israeli forces bombed the Palestinian enclave from land, sea and air as they pressed their offensive against Hamas militants.
The evacuees, who had been trapped in Gaza since the start of the war more than three weeks ago, were driven in ambulances through the Rafah border crossing. A source at the border said they were undergoing security checks on the Egyptian side.
Under the deal reached between Egypt, Israel and Hamas, a number of foreign nationals and critically wounded people will be allowed to leave the besieged territory.
Gaza health authorities have said that 8,525 people, including 3,542 children, have been killed in Israeli attacks since Oct. 7. U.N. officials say more than 1.4 million of Gaza’s civilian population of about 2.3 mil
ion have been made homeless.
The Israel military has accused Iran-backed Hamas, which rules the narrow coastal territory, of using civilian buildings as cover for fighters, commanders and weaponry, accusations it denies.
The Yemen-based Houthi movement said on Tuesday they had launched three drone and missile attacks towards Israel since the start of the Hamas-Israel war on October 7.
It vowed there would be more such attacks to come “to help the Palestinians to victory.”
In what appeared to be a new attack overnight, the Israeli military said it had intercepted an “aerial threat” over the Red Sea. Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said on Tuesday the Houthi attacks were intolerable, but declined to elaborate when asked how Israel might respond.
The Houthis are part of the Iran-aligned regional alliance hostile to Israel and the United States which includes Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iran-backed militias in Iraq. The Houthis govern swathes of Yemen including the capital Sanaa, more than a thousand miles from Israel.
Missiles and drones fired at Israel from the Red Sea area since Oct. 7 have so far either been shot down or fallen short. In an Oct. 27 incident, Israel said the Houthis were behind a drone attack that caused explosions in two Egyptian towns on the Red Sea, saying they had been intended to hit Israel.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian yesterday warned of “harsh consequences” if attacks continue on the Gaza Strip, the latest in a series of warnings from the country, which backs Hamas in Gaza and militias elsewhere in the region.
“If an immediate ceasefire doesn’t take place in Gaza Strip and the rapid attacks by United States and Zionist Regime continue then the consequences would be harsh,” he said in Ankara.
The United States and Israel have struck Iranian-backed militias in the wider region in response to what they said were unprovoked attacks over the past few weeks that have fuelled fears the Gaza conflict could ignite a wider war.
Speaking during a news conference with his Turkish counterpart, Amirabdollahian gave no details of Iran’s plans. The country said it supports Hamas but did not play any role in the militants’ attack on Israel last month.
Both it and Turkey have condemned Israel’s subsequent bombardment of Gaza. Amirabdollahian added that an imminent trip to Turkey by Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi is on the agenda.
In another development, Bolivia said it had broken diplomatic ties with Israel because of its attacks on the Gaza Strip, while neighbors Colombia and Chile recalled their ambassadors to the Middle Eastern country for consultations. Jordan also said it has recalled its ambassador to Israel.
The three South American nations lambasted Israel’s attacks on Gaza and condemned the deaths of Palestinian citizens. Bolivia “decided to break diplomatic relations with the Israeli state in repudiation and condemnation of the aggressive and disproportionate Israeli military offensive taking place in the Gaza Strip,” Deputy Foreign Minister Freddy Mamani said at a press conference.
The three countries called for a ceasefire, with Bolivia and Chile pushing for the passage of humanitarian aid into the zone and accusing Israel of violating international law. Colombian President Gustavo Petro called the attacks a “massacre of the Palestinian people” in a post on the social media network X, formerly known as Twitter.
Israel’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to Reuters. Other Latin American countries, such as Mexico and Brazil, have also called for a ceasefire.
“What we have now is the insanity of Israel’s prime minister, who wants to wipe out the Gaza Strip,” said Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday.
Bolivia is among the first countries to actively break diplomatic relations with Israel over its war in Gaza, retaliation for an Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel by Palestinian Hamas militants who Israel says killed 1,400 people, including children, and took 240 people hostage.
Bolivia cut diplomatic ties with Israel in 2009 under the government of leftist President Evo Morales, also in protest against Israel’s actions in Gaza. In 2020, the government of right-wing interim President Jeanine Anez reestablished ties.
“We reject the war crimes being committed in Gaza. We support international initiatives to guarantee humanitarian aid, in compliance with international law,” Bolivian President Arce said on social media on Monday.