The Houthis have said they will continue striking Israeli interests as long as the war on Gaza continues (Mohammed Huwais/AFP via Getty Images)
A US airstrike which targeted a Houthi official earlier this month was based on Israeli intelligence gathered from a person in Yemen, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
Citing two US officials, WSJ said Israel provided intel to the US which it received from an individual in Yemen about the suspected senior Houthi figure, which helped the US locate and eliminate the official in a 15 March airstrike.
That airstrike was discussed in a group chat on the messaging app Signal recently leaked by journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, who was accidentally added to the conversation by President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz.
The leaked conversation which discussed military plans in Yemen has rocked Washington, and both Republican and Democratic lawmakers are calling for a probe.
Israeli officials have privately complained to their US counterparts about classified information going public, according to a US official quoted by the WSJ.
The White House insists none of the information leaked was classified, and Trump has come to Waltz’s defence.
The US president has vowed to continue launching airstrikes on Yemen until the Iran-backed Houthis halt their attacks on shipping lanes in and around the Red Sea.
The Houthis have fired missiles and drones against ships and Israel in support of the Palestinians, saying they would stop only once the war in Gaza ends and Israel’s blockade on the territory is lifted.
Houthis threaten UAE
Houthi politburo member Mohammed Al-Farah on Friday accused allies of the United Arab Emirates in Yemen of providing intel to the US military for their airstrikes.
He threatened that his group could strike Abu Dhabi and Dubai in response.
“Among all the traitors who support the US strikes on their country, Yemen, and who openly cooperate with it [the US] on the ground and in intelligence, the UAE’s mercenaries stand out more than anyone else in their vileness and depravity,” Al-Farah wrote on X.
“We hope the UAE realizes that its proxies are reaping the rewards for its actions,” he said, warning that a Houthi retaliation would directly target UAE cities instead of cities held by the UAE’s allies in Yemen.
“Neither [Yemen’s] Mokha nor Shabwa will be the targets of our missiles … rather, the response will be to Abu Dhabi and Dubai”.
In a rare attack, the UAE capital was targeted by Houthi strikes in January 2022 in response to Abu Dhabi’s involvement in the Yemen war.
Al-Farah’s remarks about Mokha and Shabwa were likely in reference to the Southern Transitional Council, a UAE-allied separatist group that controls much of Yemen’s south and has fought the Houthis.
Egypt mediation efforts
A Houthi delegation discussed ways of deescalating the situation in the Red Sea during talks with Egyptian intelligence officials in Cairo, reported The New Arab’s sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
The meeting reportedly took place on Wednesday and came after an official invite by Egypt, which conveyed American messages to the Houthis about reducing regional tensions.
The Cairo talks are part of a comprehensive plan being studied by Egypt to put an end to the war in Gaza, which Israel resumed earlier this month, and bring about a final ceasefire, reported Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
Hamas spokesman Basem Naim told AFP on Friday that talks over a ceasefire deal between the Palestinian movement and mediators are gaining momentum despite brutal Israeli attacks on Gaza.
Close to 900 people have been killed since attacks resumed earlier this month, mostly civilians. In total since October 2023, over 50,000 people have been killed, according to an official death toll by the Gaza health ministry.
Palestinian sources close to Hamas had told AFP that talks began Thursday evening between the group and mediators from Egypt and Qatar to revive a ceasefire deal for Gaza.
The 19 January ceasefire deal reached between Hamas and Israel saw dozens of Israeli and foreign captives released from Gaza in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
(AFP contributed to this report)
