USA put Huthi militia back on terror list
16.34 PM: The government of US President Joe Biden is reinstating the Huthi militia in Yemen to the worldwide operating terrorists list. The reason is the ongoing attacks by the group supported by Iran in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, the White House announced on Wednesday. The classification means that more extensive sanctions will be imposed on the Shiite militia, which has also repeatedly fired rockets at the south of Israel.
“These attacks are a clear example of terrorism, a violation of international law, a major threat to human lives and world trade – and they endanger the provision of humanitarian aid,” said a senior US government official in Washington in justification. The US differentiates between globally designated terrorists (“Specially Designated Global Terrorists”, SDGT) and foreign terrorist organizations (“Foreign Terrorist Organizations”, FTO) when making terror classifications. The differentiation plays a role in the sanctions associated with the classification.
USA seek to reclassify Huthi militia as a terrorist organization
Wednesday, January 17, 2023, 07:21 AM: According to media reports, the US government intends to officially reclassify the Huthi rebels in Yemen as a terrorist organization. The militia supported by Iran, which has carried out numerous drone and missile attacks on ships in the Red Sea in recent weeks, is set to be reinstated on a US list of terrorist organizations on Wednesday, several US media outlets reported unanimously.
The US government had reversed the classification of the Huthi rebels as a terrorist organization shortly after President Joe Biden took office in early 2021. The State Department in Washington explained at that time that the classification could hinder international crisis aid for the war-torn country of Yemen. The previous administration of President Donald Trump had declared the militia a terrorist organization on one of its last days in office.
Since the start of the conflict between Israel and the radical Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas on October 7th, the Huthi rebels have attacked numerous ships in the Red Sea. The Shiite militia sees itself as part of the self-proclaimed “Axis of Resistance” against Israel, to which the Hamas in Lebanon and the Shiite militia Hezbollah belong. According to their own statements, the Huthi primarily target ships with connections to Israel in their attacks.
Due to the attacks in the important shipping route, many shipping companies are now diverting their commercial ships. Most recently, the Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen announced on Wednesday that it will temporarily stop sending ships through the Red Sea. The company stated to the AFP news agency that this step is taken to “ensure the safety of the crews.”
In response to the Huthi attacks, the USA and UK bombed the militia’s positions in Yemen for the first time at the end of last week. The USA subsequently carried out further attacks.
Conflict in Gaza: German government to supply Israel with tank ammunition
7.07 PM: The German government plans to supply Israel with around 10,000 rounds of tank ammunition. This was reported by “Spiegel”. According to the report, there is an agreement within the government.Eine entsprechende Anfrage Israels wurde bereits im November empfangen. Es gibt keine formelle Bestätigung dafür.
Raketen aus Iran schüren Befürchtungen vor Flächenbrand
Am Dienstag, den 16. Januar, um 7.43 Uhr: Nach den Raketenangriffen der iranischen Revolutionswächter auf Ziele im Irak und in Syrien wächst die internationale Besorgnis über eine Ausweitung des Gaza-Konflikts auf die gesamte Region. Angesichts wiederholter Konfrontationen zwischen der israelischen Armee und der vom Iran unterstützten Hisbollah an der Grenze zwischen dem Libanon und Israel hatte UN-Generalsekretär António Guterres bereits am Montag vor einem Flächenbrand gewarnt.
Auch die Angriffe der Huthi-Rebellen aus dem Jemen auf die Schifffahrt im Roten Meer haben das Potenzial, immer weitere Parteien in den Konflikt zu involvieren. Die Huthi zählen wie die islamistische Hamas im Gazastreifen und die libanesische Schiitenorganisation Hisbollah zur sogenannten „Achse des Widerstands“, einem Netzwerk im Kampf gegen Israel.
Die iranischen Revolutionswächter (IRGC) gaben an, mehrere ballistische Raketen auf Ziele im Irak und in Syrien abgefeuert zu haben. Die Angriffe sollten unter anderem Vergeltung für den verheerenden Anschlag in der südiranischen Stadt Kerman Anfang Januar sowie die Tötung eines hochrangigen IRGC-Offiziers Ende Dezember sein, teilte das IRGC-Webportal in der Nacht zum Dienstag (Ortszeit) mit. Ziel des Angriffs in der nordirakischen Stadt Erbil sei eine Spionagezentrale des israelischen Geheimdienstes Mossad gewesen. Augenzeugenberichten zufolge schlugen in der Nähe eines neuen im Bau befindlichen US-Konsulats mehrere Raketen ein. Vier Zivilisten wurden dabei nach Angaben von Sicherheitskreisen getötet. Die US-Regierung verurteilte den iranischen Raketenangriff auf Erbil. Der Angriff in Syrien richtete sich nach iranischen Angaben gegen die Terrormiliz Islamischer Staat (IS).
Laut der staatlichen Nachrichtenagentur Irna handelte es sich bei dem Beschuss um die bisher weitreichendste Raketenoperation des Landes mit einer Reichweite von mehr als 1200 Kilometern. Dies dürfte auch ein deutliches Signal an den Erzfeind Israel sein und entspricht in etwa der Entfernung, die Raketen vom Westen des Landes aus benötigen, um Tel Aviv oder Jerusalem zu erreichen.
UN-Generalsekretär in Besorgnis über Ausweitung des Gaza-Konflikts
Um 18.15 Uhr: UN-Generalsekretär António Guterres äußerte in New York große Besorgnis über eine Ausweitung des Gaza-Konflikts auf die umliegende Region. „Ich bin zutiefst besorgt über das, was sich dort entwickelt“, sagte Guterres am Montag. „Es ist meine Pflicht, allen Seiten diese einfache und direkte Botschaft zu überbringen: Hört auf, mit dem Feuer an der blauen Linie zu spielen, deeskaliert und beendet die Gewalt.“
Die blaue Linie markiert die Grenze zwischen Israel und dem Libanon. Seit Beginn des Gaza-Konflikts kommt es an der Grenze immer wieder zu Konfrontationen zwischen der israelischen Armee und der vom Iran unterstützten Hisbollah. Letztere ist mit der Hamas verbündet, aber als weitaus schlagkräftiger eingestuft. Neben einem sofortigen Waffenstillstand forderte Guterres außerdem erneut die Freilassung aller Geiseln und eine Untersuchung der sexuellen Übergriffe, die von der Hamas und anderen während des Massakers am 7. Oktober begangen wurden.
Guterres forderte auch verbesserte Bedingungen für die humanitäre Hilfe im Gazastreifen. Die Vesorgung wird derzeit vor allem durch mangelnden Zugang behindert, so seine Aussage.
US-Schiff vor Jemen von Rakete getroffen
Um 15.23 Uhr: UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) meldet einen „Vorfall“ südöstlich der Hafenstadt Aden im Jemen. Die Behörden untersuchen den Vorfall und raten Schiffen auf der Durchfahrt zu „äußerster Vorsicht“. Laut UKMTO sagte der Kapitän des Schiffes, das Schiff sei „von oben von einer Rakete getroffen“ worden.As per Sky News, it is an American bulk carrier. The rocket caused a fire in the ship’s cargo hold, but the ship is still seaworthy. There were no injuries. It is still unclear who is responsible.
Turkish judiciary investigates after celebration against Israeli footballer
Monday, 15th January, 02.22 AM: According to media reports in Turkey, an Israeli footballer, Sagiv Jehezkel, from the Turkish first league club Antalyaspor was arrested on Sunday evening due to a message displayed during a game related to the Gaza war. The arrest was reported by the state-owned Turkish news agency Anadolu and the television channel NTV.
Prior to this, Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc announced via the short message service X that the public prosecutor’s office of Antalya had initiated legal proceedings against the Israeli national player for “public incitement to hatred”. The footballer had allegedly celebrated the “massacre committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip”. Tunc emphasized that Turkey would continue to “support the oppressed Palestinians”.
Jehezkel had displayed the message “100 days. 07.10” on a bandage on his hand after scoring a goal in the game for his club Antalyaspor against Trabzonspor. This is an allusion to the 100-day Gaza war, which began on October 7th with an attack by the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas on Israel. With this gesture, Jehezkel showed solidarity with the hostages still held by Hamas.
Subsequently, Antalyaspor announced the dismissal of the player. The football club stated that he had “violated the values of our country”.
Israeli soldiers kill five Palestinians in the West Bank
11:35 PM: Israeli soldiers killed five Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on Sunday. Two of them were reportedly shot according to both Israeli and Palestinian sources, after they broke through barriers at a checkpoint near the city of Hebron with their car. The soldiers pursued the car, “shot at the terrorists and neutralized them,” stated the Israeli army.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah confirmed the death of the two men, and their bodies were handed over to the Palestinian Red Crescent.
Hamas releases video of three suspected Israeli hostages
11:14 PM: The militant Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas released a video on Monday, showing three hostages allegedly abducted from Israel to the Gaza Strip, according to their claims. The video features a woman and two men speaking in Hebrew, urging the Israeli government to work for their release. It is unclear when the video was recorded.
Frequently asked questions on this topic
Operation Prosperity Guardian aims to secure the free passage of trade ships in the Red Sea. The Houthi militia
Intimidate maritime activities through ship assaults and Israel. Actions cover…
Joachim Krause
Emeritus Director of the Institute for Security Policy at the University of Kiel and Editor-in-Chief of SIRIUS
The Huthis are a radical militia from northern Yemen. With 20,000 fighters, they pursue an extremist Islamist agenda, have been battling the government for decades, and have territories on the Red Sea…
Joachim Krause
Emeritus Director of the Institute for Security Policy at the University of Kiel and Editor-in-Chief of SIRIUS
The Huthis mainly receive their weapons from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Iran, one of the largest producers of military drones, supplies these to the Huthis. Rockets primarily come from Soviet or …
Joachim Krause
Emeritus Director of the Institute for Security Policy at the University of Kiel and Editor-in-Chief of SIRIUS
The Huthis are targeting maritime traffic to aid Hamas in the Gaza Strip and to challenge the US militarily. Russia and Iran are collaborating to provoke Western powers. The attacks are intended to…
Joachim Krause
Emeritus Director at the Institute for Security Policy at the University of Kiel and Editor-in-Chief of SIRIUS
100 Days of Conflict in Gaza
Sunday, January 14, 14:35: The preliminary assessment is devastating on the 100th day of the Gaza conflict. According to the health authority controlled by Hamas, 23,968 people have been killed and approximately 60,600 others injured in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip. In the terror attack on October 7th of last year, extremist Palestinian groups murdered more than 1200 people in Israel. During the worst massacre in Israel’s history, which triggered the war, terrorists also abducted around 250 people into the Gaza Strip.
Israel believes that 136 people are still being held captive or their bodies have not been returned. According to government reports, 25 people are presumed to be deceased. As part of a deal between the government in Jerusalem and Hamas, a total of 105 hostages were released during a week-long ceasefire at the end of November. In exchange, Israel released 240 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.
The situation remains dramatic for people in the Gaza Strip. After 100 days of conflict, only 13 of the 36 hospitals are partially operational. According to the United Nations, the Palestinian territory is also facing a famine. The heavily bombed coastal strip has become “uninhabitable.” Approximately 360,000 housing units have been damaged or destroyed. This means that more than half a million of the 2.2 million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip no longer have a home to return to after the war. According to the UN, 1.9 million people in the Palestinian territory were displaced one or multiple times during the fighting.
In Israel, according to government figures, more than 200,000 people had to leave their homes to seek safety in the south of the country from Hamas attacks and in the north from attacks by the Lebanese Hezbollah. Approximately 10 million people live in Israel. Along the border between Israel and Lebanon, there are frequent deadly confrontations between the Israeli army and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia as part of the Gaza conflict. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 76,000 people have been displaced in Israel’s northern neighboring country due to the tensions.
Read all the developments on the attack in Israel on the following pages.
