‘We are Arabs and our blood is one’: Yemeni fishermen face threat of Houthi attack – but on Gaza they are firmly behind the militants

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1 year ago

April 10, 2024

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Yemen’s fishermen set out at dawn to take on seas where they know they could face pirates, smugglers, and now Houthi militant missile attacks.

“We’re always scared,” Awad tells us as he sits on the edge of the wooden fishing boat.

“Because you don’t know when you will be attacked.”

The Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden have become the new battleground in the spreading war in Gaza.

Houthi missiles targeting international shipping routes have caused havoc to global trade, forced food prices up and brought heightened misery to the Yemenis who rely on the waters for their livelihoods.

Gaza war ‘affects us 100%’

The waters are choppy and it is windy the morning we join a group of fishermen in the Gulf of Aden.

They tell us their hauls have reduced, their costs have gone up, and they rarely make a profit now after hours of back-breaking work on the seas.

“The war affects our work 100 per cent,” fisherman Naeem Hamoudy tells us as he’s busy pulling in his latest haul.

Their income has been cut by as much as 90%, he insists.

Yet every one of the fishermen appears to support the action taken in support of the Palestinians – despite the impact on their livelihoods.

“The Houthis oppress us,” says one.

These men are on the opposite side of Yemen’s civil war to the Houthis militants – but the Houthi stance protesting against Israeli aggression in Gaza has won grudging respect from them.

“We are with Gaza,” says Naeem.

“And we will be with Gaza until we die because we are Arabs and our blood is one blood.”

“They are killing women and children,” he goes on in reference to the Israeli bombardment in the Strip.

“It is not an army against an army.”

Eyewitness:
Babies starving as Yemen teeters on brink of collapse

But there’s no doubt life is already hard for these fishermen, and it’s getting harder.

After nearly a decade of civil war, the spreading impact of what’s happening in Gaza is affecting some of the poorest people in the world.

After several hours on the seas, the small fishing team hauled in a smaller-than-normal catch.

They’re disappointed yet insist they’re grateful too.

“Sometimes we get nothing,” Naeem says.

“But this won’t even really cover the cost of the fuel for the boat.”

He works out they’ll probably make the equivalent of a dollar each for their hours of work.

‘Biggest threat is from the Houthis’

There are considerable problems keeping Yemen’s seas safe.

We are taken on a tour along the coast by the head of Yemen’s Navy himself – Admiral Abdullah al Nakhai.

He takes us out on one of the two new boats they’ve received.

The fleet is small, he tells us – and certainly not big enough to counter the triple threats of piracy, smuggling and the Houthi attacks.

The biggest threat, he insists, comes from the Houthis.

“We’re morally responsible for protecting our territorial waters,” he explains.

“But at the moment, we don’t have the means to protect against piracy, terrorism, smuggling and the Houthi intrusion.”

He says much more international help is needed for Yemen to counter these dangers.

“If we don’t get support to help us confront the Houthis,” he goes on, “then the opposite will be the case. And the opposite of security is chaos in the sea – that’s terrorism, piracy and disruption.”

Scientists race to avert potential disaster

In the country’s ageing laboratories in Aden, the scientists are fighting a different sort of battle – that of potential catastrophic pollution of Yemen’s seas.

The Houthi attacks against ships passing through the critical Bab al Mandab Strait hit a vessel with thousands of tonnes of hazardous chemicals on board.

The Rubymar has been laying off the Yemeni Red Sea coast since mid-February and is now mostly submerged.

A trail of oil was seen seeping out into the sea shortly after the attack – but scientists are far more worried about the prospect of the cargo of dangerous chemical fertiliser emptying into the waters.

“The leaking could happen any time – today or tomorrow,” Tawfiq al Sharjabi, the Minister for Water and Environment warned.

“It’s urgent we get international help to sort this as soon as possible.”

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Yemeni scientists have painted a terrifying picture of a potentially catastrophic environmental disaster if the chemical cargo is not safely extracted.

If the cargo leaks out of the ship’s containers instead, the chemicals could end up destroying swathes of the Red Sea and its precious marine life.

“If it happens,” Mr al Sharjabi said, “it will affect the whole Red Sea – the mangrove trees, the marine life and the Red Sea coast. Imagine how many fishermen rely on the sea every day and this will affect the whole fishing community”.

A document outlining the urgency of removing the chemicals from the sunken ship – seen by Sky News – was sent to the United Nations two weeks ago.

Yemeni scientists have already been testing samples gathered from the waters near the sunken vessel under challenging conditions.

Dr Safa Gamal Nasser, the lab manager at the Aden Oil Refinery, told us the scientists were struggling with antiquated equipment and a lack of raw materials such as the solutions required to conform to international testing standards.

“We are doing our best,” she said.

But she went on to say Yemen is in desperate need of outside help.

Alex Crawford reports from Yemen with camera Jake Britton, Specialist producer Chris Cunningham and Yemen producer Ahmed Baider.

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Ship carrying aid for Gaza bombed by drones, as NGO points finger at Israel

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1 hour ago

May 2, 2025

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Ship carrying aid for Gaza bombed by drones, as NGO points finger at Israel

A ship carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza has been bombed by drones while it was in international waters.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the NGO responsible for the ship, has pointed the finger at Israel.

Video shows fire raging onboard the vessel, which put out an SOS distress call after it was attacked off the coast of Malta.

It comes as the case against Israel at the International Court of Justice continued this week.

Gaza remains under blockade, with Israel having now refused to allow international aid into the devastated enclave for almost two months despite global outcry.

Following the drone attack, the Maltese government confirmed that after several hours all crew were safe and the fire was under control.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said: “Israeli ambassadors must be summoned and answer to violations of international law, including the ongoing blockade (of Gaza) and the bombing of our civilian vessel in international waters.”

It asserted that the drone attack “appears to have specifically targeted the ship’s generator” and had left the vessel at risk of sinking.

Describing the attack, it said: “Armed drones attacked the front of an unarmed civilian vessel twice, causing a fire and a substantial breach in the hull.

“The last communication in the early morning of the 2nd of May, indicated the drones are still circling the ship.”

It released video footage shot in the dark that showed lights in the sky in front of the ship and the sound of explosions. The footage also showed the vessel on fire.

The Israeli foreign ministry has not commented on what happened.

Yesterday, UN aid coordinator Tom Fletcher called on Israel to lift the blockade on Gaza, which has been in force for almost two months.

“Yes, the hostages must be released, now. They should never have been taken from their families,” he said.

“But international law is unequivocal: As the occupying power, Israel must allow humanitarian support in.”

Aid should never be a “bargaining chip”, he added.

‘Children going to bed starving’

Juliette Touma, spokesperson for the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA said: “The siege on Gaza is the silent killer of children, of older people.

“Families – whole families, seven or eight people – are resorting to sharing one can of beans or peas. Imagine not having anything to feed your children. Children in Gaza are going to bed starving.”

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Germany’s far-right AfD party officially classified as ‘extremist’ organisation

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3 hours ago

May 2, 2025

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Germany's far-right AfD party officially classified as 'extremist' organisation

Germany’s spy agency has officially classified the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as an “extremist” organisation.

The party has been growing in popularity and came second in February’s general election.

The country’s domestic intelligence agency said on Friday that it was an extremist entity which threatens democracy.

Its 1,000-page internal report claimed views around ethnicity held by the AfD aim to exclude certain groups from equal participation in society.

“The party’s prevailing understanding of the people based on ethnicity and descent is incompatible with the free democratic basic order,” the agency said in a statement.

“Specifically, the AfD considers, for example, German citizens with a migration background from predominantly Muslim countries not equal members of the ethnically defined German people.”

AfD’s co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla described the decision as a “serious blow to German democracy”.

In a joint statement on Friday, they said: “The AfD is now being publicly discredited and criminalised as an opposition party shortly before the change of government.

“The associated, targeted interference in the democratic decision-making process is therefore clearly politically motivated. The AfD will continue to defend itself legally against this defamation that jeopardises democracy.”

The party leaders have consistently denied the party is either far right or extremist.

Local branches of the party in the east German states of Thuringia, Saxony, and Saxony-Anhalt had already been classified as extremist by regional spy chiefs.

The entire party was also previously designated “suspected” far-right extremist.

However, the announcement allows intelligence agencies to increase surveillance on the group.

It may also embolden opponents to try to get the party banned.

The decision was welcomed by the country’s interior minister, Nancy Faeser, who said in a statement that the new assessment was “clear and unequivocal”, adding that the party “discriminates against entire segments of the population and treats citizens with a migration background as second-class Germans”.

She underlined that “there has been no political influence on the findings” but said the new classification was likely to be subject to judicial review.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that although the intelligence agency has provided a “very detailed justification” for the decision, “ban proceedings must not be rushed”.

Anton Baron, a regional politician in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, described the decision as “politically questionable”.

While the ruling is a blow for the party, it is unlikely to influence hardcore supporters, many of whom live in states where the party was already designated extremist at a local level.

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Wildfire in Israel burns 5,000 acres as drivers forced to flee cars

Published

13 hours ago

May 2, 2025

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Wildfire in Israel burns 5,000 acres as drivers forced to flee cars

Emergency crews in Israel are battling a wildfire that sent smoke drifting over Jerusalem and forced drivers to run from their cars.

About 5,000 acres (20 square kilometres) have been scorched since the blaze started in the hills outside the city on Wednesday.

The ambulance service said at least 12 people had been treated in hospital, mainly for smoke inhalation, but the fire service said “miraculously” no homes had been damaged.

Ten firefighting planes were dropping fire retardant material on Thursday and authorities said eight more were due to arrive.

Spain, Italy, France, Croatia, Ukraine and Romania are among those sending aircraft.

People celebrating Israel‘s independence day on Thursday were advised to be exceptionally careful if holding barbecues and told to avoid forests and parks.

Most official celebrations were cancelled as security forces were diverted to the fire effort.

The blaze is the most significant the country has seen in the past decade, according to Tal Volvovitch, from the fire and rescue authority.

However, an evacuation order for about 12 towns near Jerusalem has been lifted and the main highway linking Jerusalem to Tel Aviv also reopened on Thursday.

A day earlier, drivers had to abandoned their vehicles when flames encroached on the road.

Firefighting is continuing but the blaze has now been mostly contained, said the Jewish National Fund, which manages forests in the country.

It said conditions had been perfect for fires to spread – hot and dry, little rain over winter, and strong, shifting winds.

“Of course when there’s a series of drought years, it’s a fertile ground for fires,” said the fund’s Anat Gold, adding that climate change was the likely cause.