The WHO has raised the alarm: the population of Gaza is “dying of hunger”. The Lebanese Association of Mills is on the same wavelength, warning about the flour crisis: “It is not allowed to impose a tax on a policy adopted by the State and force companies to implement it”. There is no grain and the water is not drinkable.
The US State Department said: “We have raised the issue of creating a buffer zone in Gaza with the Israelis and oppose any reduction of the Strip’s territory. In the meantime, Gaza has disappeared from satellite images at a civilian infrastructural level. The Israeli military expects the war against Hamas to continue until the end of 2024, and perhaps even until 2025, an Israeli intelligence official said.
Yemeni sources report that the Anglo-American coalition attacked Yemen again in the late afternoon of January 31st. The U.S. Army Central Command announced that U.S. forces destroyed a Houthi surface-to-surface missile that was ready for launch and posed an “imminent threat to U.S. shipping.”
And also that they attacked a Houthi base and destroyed 10 drones ready for launch. The Houthis in response announced on February 1 that they had attacked a civilian vessel in the Red Sea.
According to Al Masirah newspaper: “The United States and the United Kingdom are bombing Yemen with renewed vigor, hitting Houthi targets in densely populated areas. The northern suburbs of the city of Saada, which is the administrative center of the province, where many people live, was subjected to a powerful attack. The number of victims is not reported.”
Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vitaly Nebenzya stressed that the actions of the United States and Britain in the Red Sea are reminiscent of the “worst times” of illegal NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Syria; the “Alliance” attacks against Yemen represent a direct threat to international peace.
On February 1, the US Command also stated on February 1: “An attack was launched against drones and a ground control station in areas controlled by the Houthis. We destroyed several projectiles that the Houthis in Yemen were preparing to launch at commercial ships.” According to local sources, the Al-Jabbana area in the city of Hodeidah was hit. Deputy Foreign Minister Hussein Al-Ezzi confirmed that the British threat to use humanitarian aid as a weapon against the Yemeni people is a shameful fall.
Armed Forces Spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree said on February 1: “We carried out a quality military operation targeting an American commercial vessel headed to Palestine.”
The UK Maritime Trade Operations Authority reports an incident 57 nautical miles west of Hodeidah in Yemen.
On the afternoon of February 1st, live on television in all regions of North Yemen Houthi leader, Abdulmalik Badr al-Din al-Houthi who initially reported the operations carried out: “The result of our military operations during this week: 10 operations in the Red Sea and in the Bab al-Mandab Strait against ships linked to the Israeli enemy. For me, American and British.”
And then he said they will continue to attack: “The Israeli enemy desperately wants the ability to continue maritime navigation in his favor in the Red Sea from the Bab al-Mandab Strait. Commercial traffic to the port of Umm al-Rashrash and the occupied Palestinian ports has become weak and movement is rare (…) Our armed forces are the ones who actually provide insurance for international shipping in the Red Sea, and we have actually demonstrated that the targets are ships linked to the Israeli enemy. Those who coordinate with the naval forces pass without problems, and sometimes the Americans intervene to cause problems for some ships (…) We will continue our military position in naval operations as long as the aggression and siege of Gaza continues.”
And again Abdulmalik Badr al-Din clarified the objectives of North Yemen: “When the American president decided to attack our country to protect Israeli ships, he violated the American Constitution, and there are protests within Congress by some members. The American president, instead of starting wars, should first worry about the crises in his country and the problems created by his policies. The English must learn the lesson from what happened to their ship, which burned night after night. The American and British attacks have failed, have no effect and will not limit our military capabilities. The American and British attacks on Yemen have no effect on our missiles or drones. One sign of failure is America’s attempt to ask China for assistance in seeking mediation and persuasion to stop our operations in support of the Palestinian people.
The Chinese realize that their interest is not in following the Americans and they know what the Americans are doing in Taiwan.”
Abdulmalik Badr al-Din reported that his army has 165,429 people trained and qualified in military courses in the popular community. And he said that during the period of aggression against Yemen (civil war of 2014-2023) 600,000 people were trained following general, management and specialized training. “The Yemeni People’s Army is a ready, armed army, experienced in events, and the most important thing is its trust in God, its jihadist spirit and its moral position.”
As at every end of his speeches, the Houthi leader called the population to new street demonstrations, stating: “The number of demonstrations in the secretariat and in the governorates has reached, according to those involved, 1,351, an enormous number that cannot be reached from any other country. The vigils and protests that took place in many regions were 43,646, a huge number.”
And now a look at the situation between Israel and Hamas updated at 5pm on February 1st.
The IDF again launched heavy attacks against the center of the Gaza Strip on February 1.
In southern Gaza, clashes continue between the Qassams and the Israeli army in the area west of Khan Yunis. Israeli forces storm Al-Amal hospital for the third time. The Palestinian Red Crescent said: “At dawn today, Thursday, Israeli vehicles stormed the courtyards of Al-Amal Hospital for the third time, took up positions there and opened heavy fire in the vicinity of the hospital and its buildings, before withdrawing later.”
The IDF says operations by the 55th Reserve Brigade in Khan Yunis resulted in the dismantling of 70 tunnel shafts and numerous terrorist operatives eliminated in battles with IDF troops.
In another operation, the Brigade’s sniper teams identified and eliminated several terrorist cells. Furthermore, crossfire was fired at the troops, who returned fire towards the building from where the shots had been fired. During this exchange, IDF Sergeant Major Gideon Ilani z”l died. The soldiers of the 55th Brigade have left the southern Gaza Strip and have been replaced by other forces present in the area.
The Iraqi resistance has announced an attack on the port of Haifa with drones. Missiles were fired from southern Lebanon towards the Israeli radar site in Shebaa Farms.
Sirens sounded in northern Israel in Kiryat Shmona and Margaliot, signaling the arrival of Hezbollah projectiles.
In the Galilee, two missiles launched from southern Lebanon hit an Israeli site in Metulla. They were also fired from Lebanese territory against IDF positions in Hermon, but there were no casualties. The IDF attacked the source of the fire with artillery.
In southern Lebanon, Israeli artillery shelling hits the outskirts of Yarin, Al-Jebin and Umm Al-Tut
Israeli arrests continue in the West Bank. On February 1, the city of Yatta, south of Hebron, was attacked. The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Martyr Brigades and Palestinian resistance forces in the town of Tubas and the village of Tayasir resisted a massive incursion by Israeli forces last night and at dawn on Thursday.
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
