* Says Tel-Aviv not included in ceasefire deal with US
A ceasefire deal between Yemen’s Houthis and the United States does not include any operations against Israel, the group’s chief negotiator has announced.
Mohammed Abdulsalam told the Reuters news agency on Wednesday that attacking Israel was not included in “any way, shape or form” in the agreement mediated by Oman.
The announcement of the deal came hours after Israeli warplanes targeted Yemen’s Sanaa airport. Airport director Khaled al-Shaief told Al Masirah on Wednesday that “around $500 million in losses were caused by the Israeli aggression” on the airport.
The deal was announced a day earlier by US President Donald Trump, who said attacks on Yemen against the Houthis would stop, effective immediately, after the group agreed to stop targeting vessels in the Red Sea.
In a statement on Tuesday, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said that “following recent discussions and contacts … with the aim of de-escalation, efforts have resulted in a ceasefire agreement between the two sides”.
“Neither side will target the other … ensuring freedom of navigation and the smooth flow of international commercial shipping” in the Red Sea, he added.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei “welcomed the cessation of US aggression against the country”, praising Yemenis for their “legendary resistance”.
Saudi Arabia also commended the deal. The kingdom “welcomed the statement issued by the Sultanate of Oman regarding the reaching of a ceasefire in Yemen with the aim of protecting international navigation and trade,” the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement.
Attacks on shipping
Since Israel began its war on Gaza in October 2023 following the Hamas attack on southern Israel, the Houthis have targeted Israel and vessels in the Red Sea in solidarity with Palestinians under fire.
During the fleeting ceasefire in Gaza earlier this year, the Houthis paused their attacks but restarted following Israel’s decision to enforce a total blockade on the enclave in early March, followed soon after by its full resumption of the war.
The group also threatened to restart attacks on shipping, which had been paused since January, which triggered a response from the US military in the form of near-daily air strikes.
But announcing the agreement on Tuesday, Trump said the Houthis “don’t want to fight any more”.
“And we will honour that, and we will stop the bombings, and they have capitulated,” he added.
“They say they will not be blowing up ships any more, and that’s… the purpose of what we were doing.”
But Abdulsalam told Houthi-affiliated news outlet Al Masirah TV that any US action would result in a response following the deal.
“If the American enemy resumes its attacks, we will resume our strikes,” he said.
“The real guarantee for the accord is the dark experience that the United States has had in Yemen,” he added.
Houthi political leader Mahdi al-Mashat also said attacks on Israel “will continue” and go “beyond what the Israeli enemy can withstand”.
A ballistic missile attack fired by the Houthis on Ben Gurion International Airport on Sunday hit the perimeter of the airport, injuring eight people, damaging a road and a vehicle and forcing air traffic to stop.
The Israeli military confirmed its defence system failed to shoot down the projectile, despite several attempts to intercept it, adding that an investigation was under way.
Source: News Agencies
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