Middle East crisis: I wanted to send a ‘strong signal’ to Houthis, says Sunak – after five killed in strikes
Rishi Sunak has said he wanted to send a “strong signal” to the Houthis after British and US forces launched an attack on targets in Yemen.
It comes after the Iranian-backed group defied a warning to stop targeting ships in the Red Sea.
Yemeni press agency, SABA, reported attacks took place in the capital, Sana’a, and the governorates of Sa’dah, Hodeidah, Taiz, and Dhamar.
A Houthi official said the strikes killed at least five people and wounded six, adding they won’t go “unanswered”.
The prime minister said he wanted to send “a strong signal” to the Houthis “that this breach of international law is wrong”.
Speaking during a visit to Ukraine, the prime minister said: “I made the decision with allies to take what I believe to be necessary, proportionate and targeted action against military targets to degrade and disrupt Houthi capability.
“We won’t hesitate to protect lives and ensure the safety of commercial shipping.”
Follow live: Houthi general claims ‘major battle has erupted’
He added: “It’s clear that this type of behaviour can’t be met without a response. We need to send a strong signal that this breach of international law is wrong. People can’t act like this with impunity. And that’s why, together with allies, we’ve decided to take this action.”
US officials said the strikes had been carried out by warship-launched Tomahawk missiles, as well as fighter jets and a submarine.
In a statement issued shortly after the attacks, US President Joe Biden said: “These targeted strikes are a clear message that the United States and our partners will not tolerate attacks on our personnel or allow hostile actors to imperil freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most critical commercial routes.”
Mr Biden said the military action was also supported by Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands.
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Explosions in Yemen
Nasr Aldeen Amer, vice president of the Houthi media authority in Sana’a, hit out at what he called “a brutal aggression against our country” by America.
“They will pay absolutely and without hesitation, and we will not back down from our position in supporting the Palestinian people, whatever the cost,” he said.
Houthi official Abdulsalam Jahaf also wrote on social media that “America, Britain and Israel are launching raids”.
“We will discipline them God willing,” he added.
More on Yemen strikes:
Analysis: A busy shipping lane can’t become Wild West
Analysis: Strikes on Yemen could trigger regional war
Who are the Houthis?
Strikes draw Britain and America closer to confrontation with Iran
The airstrikes in Yemen expand the war in the Middle East, draw Britain and America in deeper and risk an even wider conflagration.
Both countries have chosen a risky option that may not work and could make matters worse.
And in the minds of millions across the region, the UK and US will be seen to have taken an active military role now in support of Israel.
The UK and US will argue they had no choice and the Houthis had been warned. They had to act, we will be told, to protect global shipping, not least for economic reasons. The Houthis’ disruption of shipping lanes has wrought chaos in international commerce.
But there are several good reasons why the escalation may be counterproductive and dangerous.
A joint statement by 10 governments issued through the White House said they would “not hesitate to defend lives and protect the free flow of commerce in one of the world’s most critical waterways”.
Denmark, Germany, New Zealand and South Korea added their names to the six nations that took part in the joint strikes.
The statement said: “The Houthis’ more than two dozen attacks on commercial vessels since mid-November constitute an international challenge.
“Today’s action demonstrated a shared commitment to freedom of navigation, international commerce, and defending the lives of mariners from illegal and unjustifiable attacks.”
HMS Diamond (file pic) was a target of Houthi attacks
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Biden and Sunak confirm strikes in Yemen
The strikes came after Grant Shapps, the UK defence secretary, accused Iran of meddling and declared “enough is enough” in an escalating crisis that could ignite a wider conflict across the Middle East.
Overnight on Tuesday, a Royal Navy warship shot down seven drones in an operation with US naval vessels and jets to repel the largest Houthi drone and missile attack to date.
An image from Yemen purportedly showing explosions in Hodeidah
The UK, US and other countries issued a warning to the group a week ago to end the targeting of commercial shipping or “bear the responsibility of the consequences”.
Speaking to Sky News on Friday morning, James Heappey, the armed forces minister, described the action as an act of “self defence”.
“I can confirm that four Royal Air Force typhoon jets departed Royal Air Force Akrotiri at around 7.30pm UK time yesterday,” he said, and that they were joined by two refuelling tankers.
“All of these jets then took part in a set of co-ordinated strikes alongside the United States,” he added.
Mr Heappey said the jets “prosecuted two targets, both of which have been used as launch sites for missiles and drones against shipping in the Red Sea”.
“Our understanding is that all 14 targets that the US and UK prosecuted last night were successfully hit.”
Labour’s shadow defence secretary John Healey confirmed his party supported the government’s action in Yemen but that he now expected Mr Sunak to come to the Commons “at the earliest opportunity” to give more information to MPs.
Sky’s security and defence editor, Deborah Haynes, said the US and UK had to act or their warnings would have sounded empty.
“This is a hugely significant moment. It was inevitable that military action by the British and the Americans would be taking place after Houthis on Tuesday night defied a warning to stop attacking shipping in the Red Sea by launching a major attack with drones and missiles, that was thwarted by British and American warships and American war planes. Then, the British defence secretary said ‘watch this space’.
“And now we are watching that space and seeing what’s happening,”
World
Body of missing rabbi Zvi Kogan found in UAE – as Israeli PM says he was murdered in ‘antisemitic terror incident’
The COP29 climate talks have reached a last ditch deal on cash for developing countries, pulling the summit back from the brink of collapse after a group of countries stormed out of a negotiating room earlier.
The slew of deals finally signed off in the small hours of Sunday morning in Azerbaijan includes one that proved hardest of all – one about money.
Eventually the more than 190 countries in Baku agreed a target for richer polluting countries such as the UK, EU and Japan to drum up $300bn a year by 2035 to help poorer nations both curb and adapt to climate change.
It is a far cry from the $1.3trn experts say is needed, and from the $500bn that vulnerable countries like Uganda had said they would be willing to accept.
But in the end they were forced to, knowing they could not afford to live without it, nor wait until next year to try again, when a Donald Trump presidency would make things even harder.
Bolivia’s lead negotiator Diego Pacheco called it an “insult”, while the Marshall Islands’ Tina Stege said it was “not nearly enough, but it’s a start”.
UN climate chief Simon Stiell said: “This new finance goal is an insurance policy for humanity, amid worsening climate impacts hitting every country.
“No country got everything they wanted, and we leave Baku with a mountain of work still to do. So this is no time for victory laps.”
The funding deal was clinched more than 24 hours into overtime, and against what felt like all the odds.
The talks were rocked from the start by the incoming presidency of climate denier Mr Trump, the moment Argentina’s team were recalled back to Buenos Aires by their right-wing president and a controversial letter that sent shockwaves through the United Nations.
Pic: AP
The fraught two weeks of negotiations pitted the anger of developing countries who are footing the bill for more dangerous weather that they did little to cause, against the tight public finances of rich countries.
A relieved Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez, climate envoy for Panama, said there is “light at the end of the tunnel”.
Just hours ago, the talks almost fell apart as furious vulnerable nations stormed out of negotiations in frustration over that elusive funding goal.
They were also angry with oil and gas producing countries, who stood accused of trying to dilute aspects of the deal on cutting fossil fuels.
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Climate-vulnerable nations storm out of talks
The UN talks work on consensus, meaning everyone has to agree for a deal to fly.
A row over how to follow up on last year’s pledge to “transition away from fossil fuels” was left unresolved and punted into next year, following objections from Chile and Switzerland for being too weak.
A draft deal simply “reaffirmed” the commitment but did not dial up the pressure in the way the UK, EU, island states and many others here wanted.
Saudi Arabia fought the hardest against any step forward on cutting fossil fuels, the primary cause of climate change that is intensifying floods, drought and fires around the world.
Governments did manage to strike a deal on carbon markets at COP29, which has been 10 years in the making and will allow countries to trade emissions cuts.
‘Not everything we wanted’
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The UK’s energy secretary, Ed Miliband, said the deal is “not everything we or others wanted”, but described it as a “step forward”.
“It’s a deal that will drive forward the clean energy transition, which is essential for jobs and growth in Britain and for protecting us all against the worsening climate crisis,” he added.
“Today’s agreement sends the signal that the clean energy transition is unstoppable.
“It is the biggest economic opportunity of the 21st century and through our championing of it we can help crowd in private investment.”
Protesters at the summit in Baku. Pic: AP
Read more:
Azerbaijan president hails oil and gas as ‘gift from God’
UN climate summits ‘no longer fit for purpose’
The Azerbaijan team leading COP29 said: “Every hour of the day, we have pulled people together. Every inch of the way, we have pushed for the highest common denominator.
“We have faced geopolitical headwinds and made every effort to be an honest broker for all sides.”
At least 20 people have been killed and 66 injured in Israeli strikes on central Beirut, Lebanese authorities have said.
Lebanon‘s health ministry said the death toll could rise as emergency workers dig through the rubble looking for survivors. DNA tests are being used to identify the victims, the ministry added.
The attack destroyed an eight-storey residential building and badly damaged several others around it in the Basta neighbourhood at 4am (2am UK time) on Saturday.
The central Basta neighbourhood in Beirut
The Israeli military did not warn residents to evacuate before the attack and has not commented on the casualties.
At least four bombs were dropped in the attack – the fourth targeting the city centre this week.
A separate drone strike in the southern port city of Tyre this morning killed two people and injured three, according to the state-run National News Agency.
The victims were Palestinian refugees from the nearby al Rashidieh camp who were out fishing, according to Mohammed Bikai, spokesperson for the Fatah Palestinian faction in the Tyre area.
Israel’s military warned residents today in parts of Beirut’s southern suburbs that they were near Hezbollah facilities, which the army would target in the near future. The warning, posted on X, told people to evacuate at least 500 metres away.
The army said that over the past day it had conducted intelligence-based strikes on Hezbollah targets in Dahiyeh, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. It said it hit several command centres and weapons storage facilities.
Pic: AP
Israel has killed several Hezbollah leaders in air strikes on the capital’s southern suburbs.
Heavy fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is ongoing in southern Lebanon, as Israeli forces push deeper into the country since launching a major offensive in September.
According to the Lebanese health ministry, at least 3,670 people have been killed in Israeli attacks there, with more than 15,400 wounded.
It has displaced about 1.2 million people – a quarter of Lebanon’s population – while Israel says about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed in northern Israel.
Read more:
No 10 indicates Netanyahu would be arrested
‘Dozens’ of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrike
Meanwhile, six people, including three children and two women, were killed in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis.
Some 44,176 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, according to the Gaza health ministry.
The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count, but it has said that more than half of the fatalities are women and children.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostage.
US envoy Amos Hochstein was in the region this week to try to end more than 13 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, ignited last October by the war in Gaza.
Mr Hochstein indicated progress had been made after meetings in Beirut on Tuesday and Wednesday, before going to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence minister Israel Katz.
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