Middle East tensions rise as Gaza strike kills family and Houthis seize Mokha

An Israeli strike in northern Gaza killed a family of four as Houthis seized Yemen's port city of Mokha. The developments sharpened regional fault lines, with Iran, Lebanon, Algeria and the UN adding fresh tensions.

In Short

• Beit Lahiya strike killed a couple and their two young daughters
• Mokha's capture boosts Houthi control near the vital Bab el-Mandeb shipping lane
• Security Council members pressed Iran to widen nuclear inspections urgently

Developments across the Middle East on Thursday included an Israeli strike in northern Gaza that hospital officials said killed four people, including two children, and a Houthi takeover of Yemen’s Red Sea port city of Mokha. The Israeli military said the Gaza attack killed a militant, while Houthi and Yemeni officials confirmed the capture of Mokha.

Elsewhere, the UN Security Council saw a clash over Iran’s nuclear programme, Algeria said it was severing diplomatic ties with the UAE, Lebanon accused Israel of repeated violations of its sovereignty, and Israel warned Iran of strikes on its energy facilities if it is attacked.

In Gaza, Shifa Hospital said two children were among those killed after Israel carried out a strike in Beit Lahiya in the north. The strike killed a husband and wife along with their two daughters, aged 8 and 12.

“There is nothing that can justify Israel attacking this home,” Zuheir al-Heisami, a neighbour of the family, said at the hospital. He said the strike happened at around 2 a.m. “These were two children and their parents that were killed while they were asleep.” The Israeli military said in a statement that the strike in Beit Lahiya “eliminated” a militant who had taken part in attacks against its forces, but did not give details. Israel’s military has previously said it carries out strikes in response to threats against its forces under the fragile ceasefire that has been in place since October.

In Yemen, the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group took over the port city of Mokha, according to Houthi and Yemeni officials. Mokha is about 80 kilometres from the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a strategic waterway between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden through which about 12% of the world’s oil and other goods are shipped. The waterway has become even more important for global energy supplies since shipping through the nearby Strait of Hormuz was disrupted by Iran after it was attacked by the United States and Israel in February. The Houthis’ takeover of Mokha was confirmed to The Associated Press by Ahmed Baash, a commander with the National Resistance Forces allied with Yemen’s government, and Hazam al-Assad, a member of the Houthis’ political bureau.

At the UN Security Council, nearly a year after sanctions on Iran were reimposed over its nuclear programme, a majority of the 15-member body called on Tehran to implement tough measures and allow inspectors into all its facilities. The meeting followed a decision by the UN nuclear agency’s board to report Iran to the Security Council for the first time in 20 years, citing its failure to cooperate in a long-running investigation into uranium traces detected by inspectors at undeclared sites. British UN Ambassador Sarah MacIntosh said the International Atomic Energy Agency’s latest report needs to be addressed with “utmost urgency”. Russia and China said reimposing sanctions on Iran was illegal, while Russian UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia called the nuclear watchdog’s report “politicized”. Iran has said it is not pursuing nuclear weapons and that its programme is entirely peaceful.

Algeria’s government announced that it is severing diplomatic ties with the United Arab Emirates. An Algerian Foreign Ministry statement read on state television did not give a specific reason, but cited alleged “provocative and hostile actions” by the Gulf Arab state and “regrettable and unjustified behavior”. The UAE’s Foreign Ministry said it hoped Algeria’s decision would prove temporary and that their “fraternal ties” would ultimately be preserved.

Lebanon’s mission to the United Nations accused Israel of committing nearly 2,000 “land, air and sea violations” of Lebanon’s sovereignty during July, according to a letter published on the UN website. The letter did not give details of the alleged violations, and the Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israel occupies a large swath of southern Lebanon that it seized during a ground invasion after Hezbollah militants began firing rockets across the border into Israel in March. Lebanon and Israel reached an agreement in June calling for Israel to withdraw from occupied areas in exchange for Hezbollah’s disarmament, but implementation has largely stalled, with Israel continuing airstrikes as it accuses Hezbollah of attacking its forces.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned Iran of a “powerful response” if Israel is attacked, saying it would “inflict severe damage on Iran of a kind it has not yet suffered, including on its central energy facilities”. His video statement came after Iran launched missiles at US targets earlier this week in Jordan, Israel’s eastern neighbour, in response to US strikes on Iranian oil tankers.

The day’s developments underscored multiple flashpoints across the region, with fresh deaths reported in Gaza, a key shift in control in Yemen, a renewed dispute at the UN over Iran’s nuclear programme, a diplomatic break between Algeria and the UAE, new accusations from Lebanon against Israel, and a fresh warning from Israel to Iran.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends