Nothing to be done about US aid for Israel: there was a halt in the US Senate. The US House, simply put, rejected a $118 billion immigration and foreign aid package.
The UN complains about the situation in Gaza and announced that the famine in the Strip has increased 12 times as a result of the Israeli operation. The International Criminal Prosecutor also shows concern and said: “What is happening in Gaza is worrying.” “The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, expressed great concern about the images coming from the Gaza Strip, four months after the Israeli aggression against the Strip.”
From Russian sources we learn that Israel has released 71 Palestinians arrested from the Gaza Strip, including 19 women, citing the Israeli General Directorate of Border Crossings and Borders as the source.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albarez confirmed “that his country wants a viable Palestinian state that coexists with Israel, calling for a peace conference that brings together Palestinians and Israelis and leads to the creation of a Palestinian state.”
A Hamas delegation is expected in Cairo to complete ceasefire talks. Hamas announced yesterday that a delegation led by Khalil al-Hayya, deputy head of the movement in Gaza, arrived in Cairo with the aim of completing ceasefire talks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in response to Hamas’ proposal, defined the terms of the temporary truce put forward by Hamas as “delusional demands”. He said that Israeli victory in the war against the Palestinian movement is “within reach.”
The most worrying statements of February 8th came from Yemen. And more precisely from Abdul-Malik Badr al-Din al-Houthi who in a long speech following a round of British-American attacks said, in the province of Hodeidah, in the area of Qatinat in the district of Baqim, Saada Governorate , that “American-British attacks on our country this week have totaled 86 and have had no effect in limiting our capabilities.” According to the Houthi leader, the limitations of Ansar Allah’s military capabilities professed by the West are just electoral propaganda.
Abdul-Malik Badr al-Din al-Houthi, after expressing solidarity with the Iraqi Islamic Resistance for the losses following the American attacks, raised the alarm for the next Israeli attacks in Rafah, on the border with Egypt which “will inflict a catastrophe even greater to the displaced people and the people who live there.” And he accuses the Americans and the British of playing a leading role in the coming attacks on Rafah. For Abdul-Malik Badr al-Din al-Houthi: “The American has a fundamental role in the failure of the international community despite the continuation of genocide crimes in Gaza.” About him Israel he said: “The Israeli enemy has failed to achieve its declared goal of eliminating the mujahideen in the Gaza Strip.”
The Americans estimate that the Israeli army needs at least 5 years to restore the losses caused by the October 7 attack without further losses. Israel then, according to the Houthi leader, is “used to blitzkrieg wars, and the exhaustion from which its army suffers is evident from the sending of military brigades to restore it”.
Finally the Houthis threatened the United Kingdom; “The British situation is unstable and fragile economically and internally. The American and British battle with us is not for the sake of international shipping, but for the sake of Israeli shipping. It makes no sense for the Americans or the English to attack our country. The only useless solution is for food and medicine to reach the people of Gaza and stop the crimes of genocide. The UK plays an aggressive and rude role without any justification. The British are still hostile towards our people since their previous colonization in Aden. If Britain still has dreams, it should realize that they are a fantasy and a false illusion that will have no chance of being realized in reality. If the English have the illusion of colonizing our country, then it is a psychological disease for which we have medicines and cures.”
The medicine and cure for Ansar Allah is represented by naval attacks, al Houthis declared: “If the last dose administered to the British ship that burned night after night was not sufficient, other doses can be directed towards their ships”.
And then he thanked the groups fighting Israel in Gaza and on Hezbollah, Abdul-Malik Badr al-Din al-Houthi said: “The Hezbollah front in Lebanon has a great influence in distracting the enemy, harassing his forces and forcing hundreds of thousands of Zionists to flee.” And again: “Due to the effectiveness of the Iraqi Front, the Americans have intensified the confrontation and targeted the leaders of their beloved mujahideen. The Yemen Front will continue to target Israel and its naval operations until the aggression and siege of Gaza ends. We advise the Americans and the British to have a positive attitude towards the response of the Hamas movement to the proposals and within the framework of the diplomatic efforts undertaken by the countries of Qatar and Egypt.”
Al Houthis claim: “This week we targeted the enemy in Umm al-Rashrash, Eilat, and it is no longer as safe as Israel had hoped, and the port there is currently not functioning. Israelis in Umm al-Rashrash are in a state of constant anxiety and fear, and the economic situation has clearly suffered. Our operations have continued this week in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the movement of Israel-related vessels is almost non-existent.” “As for the Israeli ships, their movement has completely stopped from Bab al-Mandab and through the Red Sea, and this is a real achievement and victory.”
According to Ansar Allah, the mechanism with which Israel tried to deceive the Houthis was also discovered, in al Houthi’s statements we read: “The enemy relied on chartered ships to transport its goods and, by targeting these, the situation it became difficult. The cost of the enemy’s economic losses is heavy due to our operations, and this is something known and clear. There have been five operations this week, including a major operation in which the American said the fighting lasted 14 hours.”
The predictable and worrying comment was: “Our path is that of escalation until the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza worsens and the injustice and mass murders continue. The real and main subjects affected by the operations in the Red Sea are the Israelis, together with the Americans and the English”. “The shipping companies are now aware of the fact that the clash with the Americans and the English is approaching, due to their aggression against our country”.
The director of the Maersk shipping company confirmed the difficulty of navigation in the Red Sea, according to which the situation in the Middle East and the Red Sea has degenerated into a state of “uncertainty” and the US Navy has informed Maersk that it cannot guarantee safety of all Maersk vessels transiting the Red Sea.
In Yemen today the final version of the bill on countries hostile to Yemen is being discussed. A source at the Presidency of the Republic reported that the final version of the bill listing the countries hostile to the Republic of Yemen is currently under discussion, implementing the directives of His Excellency Field Marshal Mahdi Al-Mashat, President of the Council Supreme Political Council.
From now on, any Israeli citizen who questions the government’s version of the October 7 attack faces five years in prison. The law is under debate. Israeli media admits that 13,000 soldiers have been injured since October 7. Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth admitted Thursday that the army has treated around 13,000 wounded soldiers since October 7. The Israeli army said it has withdrawn the 8410th artillery battalion from the Gaza Strip
And now a look at the Israel – Hamas front updated at 4.30pm on 8 February.
The IDF attacks the city of Khayyam and several aerial bombardments were reported by Hezbollah in villages south of Lebanon. In response, Hezbollah fires in Northern Israel
Dozens dead and injured following Israeli bombings against the center and south of the Gaza Strip which occurred on the night of February 8 in the morning. At least 14 people were killed and dozens more injured in the central and southern Gaza Strip. On the afternoon of February 8, the air raids were repeated.
In the northern Gaza Strip, Palestinians are actively rebuilding their organization and gradually expanding their activities in various areas and suburbs of Gaza. In an IDF statement, from the Commander of the Northern Command, MG Ori Gordin, addressed to soldiers of the 188th Brigade training for combat in the north: “These days you will join the defensive and offensive mission on the northern border. We have been in combat” Since four months, and we’re not slowing down. I see in front of me experienced and determined soldiers, who achieved impressive results on the Gaza battlefield. Now, we are preparing to convert your experience and capabilities, as needed, to a different battlefield here in the North. There is nothing that can replace the operational experience you have gained in recent months; it greatly amplifies our strength.” There is fear of a widening of the conflict with Lebanon.
Clashes were recorded between the Al-Qassam Brigades and the Israeli army near the Al-Sinaa junction in the city of Gaza. Clashes were also recorded south-west of Gaza City and near the headquarters of the Israeli incursion command south-east of Gaza City Qassam missile launches.
In southern Gaza, the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement in Palestine, carried out an ambush against Israeli soldiers east of the Central Governorate. Clashes continue in Khan Yunis.
At dawn on Thursday, Israeli forces carried out raids and arrest operations in several areas of the occupied West Bank. There is currently no count of those arrested.
Escalation of violence on the border with Egypt. The Israelis are carrying out air strikes and have reported the elimination of the head of one of the police services in Rafah. Troops have been ordered to “prepare for operation” in Rafah in the Gaza Strip, according to Benjamin Netanyahu. In the meantime, the Mujahideen Brigades bombed the “Soufa” site and the “Tzealim” Israeli military headquarters east of Rafah with missile attacks.
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
