The leader of Yemen’s Houthi movement, Abdulmalik al-Houthi, said his group is ready to resume military operations against Israel if the Gaza truce is thwarted.Â
The current phase should be a phase of Arab and Islamic unity, al-Houthi said. The Houthi leader criticised the “American madness in the form of a plan to displace Gazans.” He also reiterated the movement’s unchanged stance towards the Lebanese Hezbollah group and the Lebanese people.
On Monday, Hamas’ armed wing announced that it would postpone the release of a new group of hostages. The militants attributed their decision to Israeli violations of the agreement. In Israel, however, believe that in fact the delay in the exchange is a reaction of Hamas to the intention of US President Donald Trump to take possession of the Gaza Strip, evicting the Palestinians from there. Trump himself has already promised the group “real hell” if all the hostages are not returned home by Saturday afternoon.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz later commented on the Hamas statement, saying it was a “total violation of the ceasefire and hostage release deal.”
Israel and Hamas brokered a ceasefire in Gaza by the US, Qatar and Egypt, with the truce taking effect on January 19. Since then, the sides have conducted five exchanges, in which 21 Israeli hostages and more than 730 Palestinians have been released.
The war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7, 2023. The Israeli death toll has been around 1,200, with around 250 others taken prisoner by the militants. The Gaza Health Ministry estimates that more than 47,000 Palestinians have died in the enclave since the war began.
