Middle East Conflict: China Reportedly Presses Iran Over Houthis' Red Sea Attacks

Biden told Netanyahu he isn't in it for a 1-year war: Report

U.S. President Joe Biden told Netanyahu during a 40-minute call last week that he is "not in it for a year of war" and the Israeli army should wind down its offensive in the Gaza Strip, Axios reported Friday, citing two U.S. officials.

Biden doesn't want the mounting death toll in Gaza and the ongoing war to continue dominating the headlines as the presidential election draws near, a source close to the White House said.

The U.S. leader specifically commented on Netanyahu's earlier remarks that the war will drag on for "many more months," urging his Israeli counterpart to move faster in transitioning to a lower-intensity phase of fighting.

Netanyahu reportedly told his American counterpart that the low-intensity transition was already accomplished in northern Gaza and it will happen in the south but that the IDF needed more time to do so.

Survivor compares Oct. 7 atrocities to Holocaust

Ruth Haran, a survivor of the horrific Holocaust, said the Oct. 7 massacre of babies and the sexual abuse of women during that day was "a Holocaust."

She is joining an "extensive public diplomacy campaign" Friday as initiated by Netanyahu's office ahead of tomorrow's International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Attack report off Yemen: UKMTO

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said Friday local time that it received a report of an "attack" in the Red Sea, approximately 60 nautical miles southwest of Aden in Yemen.

Authorities are still investigating the incident and vessels have been advised to transit the area with caution.

Missiles fired near Red Sea vessel: UKMTO

The UKMTO said Friday that it received a report of missile sightings off of the Houthi-controlled Hodeidah in Yemen. An explosion was sighted just 0.5 nautical miles from the reporting ship, it added.

The vessel and crew are safe, and authorities are investigating the incident.

Protesters block Kerem Shalom crossing anew

Protesters have once again gathered at the Kerem Shalom crossing to block the flow of humanitarian aid trucks into the Gaza Strip, local media reported.

The blockage marks the third consecutive day that demonstrators staged a rally at the crossing as part of their efforts to call for the immediate release of remaining hostages still in Hamas captivity.

The Netanyahu government has been under increasing pressure to secure the release of remaining abductees while also allowing more humanitarian aid to enter the war-torn enclave.

IDF urges 4 Khan Yunis neighborhoods to evacuate

Residents of four Khan Yunis neighborhoods have been urged by the IDF to evacuate immediately to a designated humanitarian zone in Al-Mawasi through Al-Bahr Street, as per a notice posted on X by IDF spokesperson for Arab media Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee.

The affected areas are as follows: Al-Nasr, Al-Amal, City Center and Blocks 107-112 of the city's refugee camp.

The announcement comes following earlier evacuations among residents of southern Gaza's main city as fighting between Israeli troops and Hamas reach unsafe highs.

Hezbollah leader slams Saudi's liquor store opening

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday criticized the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's move of opening its first liquor store in more than 70 years, saying Saudi "has lost all its shame."

Austin reaffirms US support to Gallant

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over the phone to reaffirm Washington's support for Israel's right to self-defense.

Austin also noted the importance of ensuring that humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza are uninterrupted, as per a statement by Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder.

He reaffirmed U.S. commitment to diplomatic exchanges to resolve rising tensions in the Israeli-Lebanese border and "the shared goal of avoiding regional escalation."

Countries that normalize relations with Israel will pay 'heavy price': Iranian FM

Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said in an interview published by Al-Monitor Thursday that any country normalizing relations with Israel will have to pay a "heavy price."

He said Iran isn't looking to "widen" the Israel-Hamas war, adding that it has sent messages to Washington about the risk of further tensions in the Middle East. He said U.S. support of Israel was contradictory to the country's claimed humanitarian values.

His warning comes amid rising tensions in the region as initiated by Iran-backed militias such as Lebanon-based Hezbollah and Yemeni Houthi rebels.

China asks Iran to rein in Houthis or risk business ties: Report

Chinese officials have pressed the Iranian government to help keep Houthis in check in the troubled Red Sea, or else business relations with China may be at risk, Reuters reported Friday, citing four Iranian sources and a diplomat familiar with the matter.

"Basically, China says: 'If our interests are harmed in any way, it will impact our business with Tehran. So tell the Houthis to show restraint," one official briefed on the talks but spoke on condition of anonymity told the outlet.

The talks took place in both Beijing and Tehran in recent meetings, the Iranian sources said. They did not reveal when exactly the discussions happened and which officials attended the meetings.

Beijing reportedly did not specifically comment or make threats on how exactly trade ties with Iran could be affected due to continuing Houthi attacks, the sources said.

However, China and Iran have had solid oil-related transactions in the past years. Tanker tracking data from trade analytics firm Kpler showed that Chinese oil refinery companies bought more than 90% of Iranian crude exports in 2023.

Israeli minister alleges Qatar 'largely responsible' for Hamas' Oct. 7 rampage

Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich on Thursday slammed Qatar after the foreign ministry issued a statement that called out the Israeli prime minister over his purported comments that Qatar was "problematic."

He accused Qatar of financing terrorism and of being "the patron of Hamas." He further alleged that Qatar was "largely responsible for the massacre committed by Hamas of Israeli citizens."

Smotrich's comments were made in response to the Qatari foreign ministry's criticism of a leaked audio wherein Netanyahu supposedly criticizes the country's mediating role in talks for a ceasefire deal.

Blinken again asks Israel to protect Gaza civilians

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday renewed his call on Israel to protect civilians in Gaza following a deadly airstrike on a United Nations shelter.

"We have reaffirmed this with the government of Israel and it is my understanding that they are, as is necessary and appropriate, looking into this incident," he said.

The rare condemnation comes after a building where hundreds of displaced Gaza residents in Khan Yunis was hit in intensified clashes between Israeli troops and Hamas militants. The UN said the facility was struck by Israeli fire.

The IDF has since said it had "currently" ruled out the strike was from Israeli forces, adding that it was conducting a review of the incident and "examining the possibility that the strike was a result of Hamas fire."

US, UK jointly sanction 4 Houthi officials

The United States and United Kingdom on Thursday jointly imposed sanctions on four officials of the Yemeni Houthi rebel militia, also called Ansarallah, the U.S. Department of State said in a statement.

"The United States is continuing to take action to hold the Houthis accountable for their illegal and reckless attacks on vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden," the statement noted.

Houthis claim 'direct hit' on US ship

The Yemeni Houthi rebel militia on Thursday claimed that it had a "clash" with U.S. forces in the Red Sea "while they were protecting two American commercial ships."

Houthi spokesperson Yahya Sare'e said the fire exchange resulted in a "direct hit on an American vessel," and "several of our ballistic missiles struck their targets despite [US] warships' attempts to intercept them," as per a Google-translated statement. The exchange lasted for over two hours, as per Sare'e.

Shortly after, the U.S. Central Command announced that Houthis fired three anti-ship ballistic missiles from Yemen toward the container ship M/V Maersk Detroit, a U.S.-owned and operated vessel.

Seemingly denying the Houthis' claim about directly hitting an American ship, the U.S. military said one Houthi missile "impacted in the sea" while the other two were shot down by a U.S. destroyer.

Hezbollah claims attack on Israeli army observation post

Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas that has a much larger weapons arsenal than the Palestinian militant group, said early on Friday that it attacked a "surveillance dome" belonging to the IDF using "specialized missile weapons."

It published footage of the supposed attack, but the Israeli army has yet to confirm the claim.

Iran now a 'legitimate target' for Israel: Economy minister

Israel's economy minister told The Telegraph Thursday that Iran has become a target of Israeli missile strikes amid continuing attacks toward Israel and U.S. assets by Iranian-backed militias in Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq.

"Iran is a legitimate target for Israel. They will not get away with it. The head of the snake is Tehran," he said, adding that he recommends "the strategy that President [John F.] Kennedy used in the Cuban missile crisis," wherein what the former U.S. president "basically said then was a missile from Cuba will be answered by a missile from Moscow."

He went on to note that Israel believes Iran's warning that it wants to destroy Israel. "We are not going to allow another Holocaust," he reiterated.

CIA chief to meet mediators in the coming days to push for hostage deal

Burns is expected to meet Israeli, Egyptian and Qatari negotiators in the coming days to push for a ceasefire deal that will free the remaining hostages in Hamas captivity, the Washington Post first reported.

Specifically, Burns will meet David Barnea, chief of Israel's intelligence agency Mossad, Abbas Kamel, Egyptian intelligence director, and Qatar's Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

Qatar and Egypt played key roles in brokering a deal with Hamas in November, when more than a hundred abductees were freed under a seven-day truce deal.

White House says grateful to Qatar after purported Netanyahu leak

The White House on Thursday was quick to reiterate that it was thankful to Qatar's mediating role in getting hostages back home.

"Qatar is a key partner in the region. We're grateful for their support of our continued efforts to try to get hostages out of Gaza and reunited with their families," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said in a statement.

This comes after the release of a recording wherein Netanyahu allegedly criticized Qatar as a mediator in negotiations for a ceasefire-hostage agreement.

Qatar 'appalled' by Netanyahu's alleged remarks

Qatar is "appalled" by the alleged remarks Netanyahu purportedly made during a meeting with the families of remaining hostages in Gaza, spokesperson of the Qatari foreign ministry, Majed al-Ansari, said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).

Al-Ansari's comments came after the release of a recording by Israeli television wherein the Israeli prime minister was allegedly heard criticizing Qatar's mediating role in the possible release of hostages in exchange for a ceasefire.

"Qatar, from my point of view, is no different in essence than the United Nations...and the Red Cross. [Qatar] is even more problematic," Netanyahu allegedly said, adding that since Qatar had "leverage" over Hamas because it "funds" the Palestinian terror group, he was willing to coordinate with them to get Israeli hostages back home.

"These remarks if validated, are irresponsible and destructive to the efforts to save innocent lives, but are not surprising," al-Ansari said.