Middle East: Dozens killed in Gaza, Red Sea ship targeted

The Israeli military said late Sunday it had struck targets across Yemen linked to the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

Israel said its fighter jets, "in response to the repeated attacks by the Houthi terrorist regime against the State of Israel," had "struck and destroyed terror infrastructure belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime."

Among the locations targeted were the ports of Hodeida, Ras Isa and Salif, and Ras Qantib power plant in Yemen, the Israeli military said.

The Houthi-controlled Al-Masirah television also reported the Israeli air strikes.

The Israeli assault came hours after a merchant ship came under attack in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen on Sunday.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but security firm Ambrey said the vessel fits the typical profile of a Houthi target.

Since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, the Iran-aligned Houthis have launched attacks against international shipping in the Red Sea, disrupting global trade.

The Houthis have said their actions are in "solidarity" with Palestinians in the face of Israeli aggression in Gaza.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem on Sunday said his group would not lay down its weapons in response to Israeli threats.

"This (Israeli) threat will not make us accept surrender," Qassem said in a televised speech to thousands of his supporters who gathered in Beirut's southern suburbs during the Shiite Muslim religious commemoration of Ashura.

Qassem insisted that Israel's "aggression" must stop first.

"How can you expect us not to stand firm while the Israeli enemy continues its aggression, continues to occupy the five points, and continues to enter our territories and kill?," he said.

"We will not be part of legitimizing the occupation in Lebanon and the region. We will not accept normalization (with Israel)," Qassem added.

Two months of full-scale war between Hezbollah and Israel ended in a ceasefire in November 2024. During the war, Israel killed most of Hezbollah's leadership and degraded the group's military capacities.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads to the US, with the political situation across the Middle East at a critical moment. There is talk of a potential ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, and efforts are being made to reach a lasting deal with Iran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday expressed confidence that talks with US President Donald Trump on Monday could help make progress toward a Gaza hostage release and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

Netanyahu was speaking before boarding a flight to Washington ahead of tomorrow's talks and as an Israeli delegation arrived in Doha, Qatar, to resume negotiations.

"I believe the discussion with President Trump can certainly help advance these results," he said, speaking to reporters on the tarmac at Tel-Aviv's Ben Gurion airport.

"There are 20 hostages that are alive, 30 dead. I am determined, we are determined, to bring them all back. And we will also be determined to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel."

Monday's visit to the White House will be Netanyahu's third since Trump returned to power nearly six months ago.

An as yet unidentified merchant ship came under attack in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen on Sunday, according to British and US military assets in the region.

The British maritime agency and security firm Ambrey issued an alert saying the vessel had been "attacked by eight skiffs while transiting northbound in the Red Sea."

The attack was reportedly carried out by armed men firing guns and rocket-propelled grenades. Ambrey later claimed that bomb-carrying drone boats had also been involved, two striking the ship while two more were destroyed by armed guards on board.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center (UKMTO), which is overseen by the British military, confirmed that an armed security team had returned fire and said the "situation is ongoing."

It later said the ship was on fire after being "struck by unknown projectiles" and that "authorities are investigating" the attack which was taking place around 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Hodeida, Yemen, which is held by the country's Houthi rebels.

The United States Navy's 5th Fleet, which is based in the region, referred questions to the military's Central Command, which said it was aware of the incident but did not elaborate.

No individual or group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion will likely fall on the Houthis. Private firm Ambrey have already said the vessel targeted met "the established Houthi target profile" while the group's al-Masirah satellite news channel acknowledged the attack occurred.

The Iran-backed Yemeni rebels, whose arsenal includes drone boats, have launched over 100 attacks on international Red Sea shipping since November 2023, in what they call acts of "solidarity" with Palestinians in the face of Israeli aggression in Gaza.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has slammed a decision by Israel's Security Cabinet to approve a plan to allow international organizations to distribute more aid in the north of the Gaza Strip.

Far-right hardliner Smotrich called the plan, which was reported by the Times of Israel newspaper, a "grave mistake".

He said the plan would benefit the militant Palestinian group Hamas and serve as "logistical support for the enemy during wartime."

Reports in Israel spoke of a "heated" Security Cabinet meeting during which Smotrich allegedly accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Chief-of-Staff Eyal Zamir of not fulfilling their mission in Gaza and failing to ensure that aid entering the enclave did not fall into the hands of Hamas.

He said he was considering his "next steps" but stopped short of explicitly threatening to quit the coalition.

Smotrich himself lives in an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank and is staunchly opposed to the idea of a Palestinian state, among other radical views. But Netanyahu is dependent on far-right and religious parties for a majority in the Knesset.

Israeli air strikes again killed dozens of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Saturday night and Sunday morning, although the precise number of casualties is currently unclear.

Gaza's civil defense agency told the AFP news agency that 14 people had been killed, including 10 in a pre-dawn strike on Gaza City's Sheikh Radawn neighbourhood.

A local resident told the agency: "The rest of the family is still under the rubble. We are losing young people, families and children every day, and this must stop now. Enough blood has been shed."

Palestinian sources cited by the dpa news agency put the death toll at 17, including four children aged 6-12 from the same family who were killed by an Israeli drone when sheltering in a tent near the city of Khan Younis.

The Associated Press (AP) quoted hospital officials in both Gaza City and Khan Younis who said that at least 38 people had been killed.

Among the 130 targets which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they struck in the last 24 hours were a tent camp for displaced persons in the coastal area of Muwasi and two houses in Gaza City, where a further 25 people were injured, according to the sources cited.

The IDF made no immediate comment on the individual strikes, but regularly insists that it only targets locations linked to the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Hello and welcome to DW's coverage of developments in the Middle East on Sunday, July 6, 2025.

An Israeli delegation is expected in Doha, Qatar, on Sunday to take part in Gaza ceasefire negotiations – despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissing alterations proposed by Hamas as "unacceptable."

Netanyahu himself is flying to Washington for talks with US President Donald Trump, who suggested on Friday that there "could be a Gaza deal" next week.

Meanwhile, dozens more Palestinians have been killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza.