Houthi warns of attack on any ship heading to Israel

In a statement on December 9, a Houthi military spokesman said all ships from the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea were banned from traveling to Israeli ports, according to Reuters. "If Gaza does not receive the food and medicine it needs, all ships in the Red Sea bound for Israeli ports, regardless of their nationality, will be targeted by our armed forces," the spokesman said, adding that the warning was effective immediately.

Gunmen in al-Salif (Yemen) on December 5 while in the distance is the commercial ship Galaxy Leader captured by the Houthis in November

The Houthis are one of several groups in the “Axis of Resistance” in the region that support Palestinians against Israel. The Houthis have attacked and seized several Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait that connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, a major shipping route for the world ’s oil. In addition, Yemeni forces have launched ballistic missiles and armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at Israel.

Israel and its allies have condemned the Houthis' actions, with Washington warships intercepting several missiles and UAVs.

Forces in Iraq warn the US

In another development, the Kataeb Hezbollah armed group in Iraq said on December 9 that the attacks targeting US forces the day before were just the beginning of a new round of fighting, according to Reuters.

The US Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, was hit by two rocket attacks on December 8, and no group has claimed responsibility. Kataeb Hezbollah, a group with links to Iran, said the US Embassy was a forward base for planning military operations.

The US and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani have condemned the attack as a terrorist act targeting a diplomatic mission. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has named Kataeb Hezbollah and the Haraket Hezbollah al-Nujaba group as behind several recent attacks on US forces. Kataeb Hezbollah has said that Iraqi security forces cooperating with the US is "complicity in crime".

Since the start of the Hamas-Israel conflict, there have been more than 80 attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for 11 attacks on U.S. forces on December 8, the most in a single day since mid-October.

Israeli tanks near the Gaza Strip on December 5.

US sells ammunition to Israel

The administration of US President Joe Biden has used emergency powers to sell nearly 14,000 tank shells to Israel without congressional approval, according to a Pentagon announcement on December 9. The contract is worth $106.5 million and the ammunition will be delivered to Israel immediately, according to AFP.

The artillery shells, which will be taken from US Army stocks, will be used by Israel as "a deterrent against regional threats and to strengthen homeland defense."

As the war escalates, the use of US weapons in the conflict has come under scrutiny due to concerns about civilian casualties. A US State Department official said on December 9 that Washington continues to make clear to Israel that it must comply with international humanitarian law and take every measure to minimize harm to civilians.

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