Biden warns Houthis against "outrageous behaviour" Here’s more from Joe Biden, who spoke to reporters briefly before an event Friday afternoon in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. Asked if the US will continue strikes against the Houthis, Biden replied: We will make sure that we respond to the Houthis as they continue this outrageous behaviour. Patients will die within hours, warn doctors after key Gaza hospital loses power Doctors at al-Aqsa hospital in central Gaza have warned patients will die soon after power was cut off on Friday after it ran out of fuel for its main generator. The power cut came soon after the hospital in Deir al-Balah warned that its fuel supply was about to run out. The facility, which serves as the main hospital in central Gaza, said the UN had said a fuel delivery was expected but it had not arrived by Friday night. The hospital went black after nightfall, with staff keeping ventilators and incubators operating using batteries charged by solar power during the day, AP reported. One doctor, Taiseer Abu Sweirih, told the news agency: In two hours at most, if the electricity doesn’t come back, and the oxygen, these patients you see here will die. Rishi Sunak has said the UK acted in “self-defence” with military strikes in Yemen intended to “de-escalate tensions and restore stability to the region”, as he faced calls for greater parliamentary scrutiny. Speaking from Ukraine, Sunak said that in the face of this aggression “we will always stand up for the rule of law” after a series of attacks by Houthi rebels on shipping in the Red Sea. However, the Lib Dems, SNP and the former Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, have urged the prime minister to recall parliament to seek approval for the military assault, while warning about the risk of escalation in the Middle East. Labour has called for the legal advice in relation to the strikes to be published. The prime minister has said he will make a statement to MPs on Monday about “limited and necessary” military strikes in Yemen. Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, briefed MPs on a call on Friday but did not take any questions. One leading Conservative, David Davis, said it appeared to be “reasonable” self-defence but that if the UK government intends to widen and intensify the military action in an aggressive way, then the prime minister should seek parliamentary approval with a vote of MPs. The military action has been backed across the Conservatives and the Labour frontbench, with Keir Starmer saying his party is “fully supportive” of the action. UN chief urges Houthis to immediately cease attacks on shipping in Red Sea The UN’s secretary general, António Guterres, has urged countries to avoid an escalation in the Red Sea, a day after the US and UK launched strikes across multiple parts of Yemen in response to Houthi attacks against commercial shipping. In a statement by his spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, the UN chief warned that the Houthis must “immediately cease all such attacks” on international shipping in the Red Sea. These attacks are “not acceptable as they endanger the safety and security of global supply chains and have a negative impact on the economic and humanitarian situation worldwide,” he said. He said countries defending their ships from Houthi attacks must do so in accordance with international law and not escalate the situation. The statement continued: The Secretary-General stresses the need to avoid acts that could further worsen the situation in Yemen itself. He calls for every effort to be made to ensure that Yemen pursues a path towards peace and that the work undertaken thus far to end the conflict in Yemen should not be lost. Israeli forces killed three Palestinian men who attacked a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank on Friday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. An IDF statement said its soldiers had come under fire while patrolling the Adora settlement, some 20 km (12 miles) west of Hebron city in the southern West Bank. The soldiers searched the area and “three assailants were identified and neutralised by the security forces”, the statement said. A 34-year-old Palestinian man involved in the attack was injured after being shot in the leg, Israeli emergency medical services said. In a separate incident in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a man was killed after being severely beaten by Israel forces in Zeita, north of the city of Tulkarm, the Palestinian health ministry said. Biden warns Houthis against "outrageous behaviour" Here’s more from Joe Biden, who spoke to reporters briefly before an event Friday afternoon in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. Asked if the US will continue strikes against the Houthis, Biden replied: We will make sure that we respond to the Houthis as they continue this outrageous behaviour. Biden defends airstrikes in letter to Congress The White House has published a letter from Joe Biden to House speaker Mike Johnson and Senate president pro tempore Patty Murray explaining why he did not seek congressional approval prior to authorizing Thursday night’s airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen. The US president is facing bipartisan condemnation for not asking lawmakers first, but in the letter says he didn’t need to because it was act of self-defense. The letter fulfils the requirement that he inform Congress of his actions within 48 hours: I directed this military action consistent with my responsibility to protect US citizens both at home and abroad and in furtherance of US national security and foreign policy interests, pursuant to my constitutional authority as commander in chief and chief executive and to conduct US foreign relations. The US took this necessary and proportionate action consistent with international law and in the exercise of the US’ inherent right of self-defense as reflected in Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. The US stands ready to take further action, as necessary and appropriate, to address further threats or attacks. I am providing this report as part of my efforts to keep the Congress fully informed, consistent with the War Powers Resolution (Public Law 93-148). I appreciate the support of the Congress in this action. You can read the full letter on the White House website here. Biden says Yemen airstrikes "a success" Joe Biden, in his first public comments on the US-UK airstrikes, said they were “a success”. The US president spoke very briefly before an event Friday afternoon in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, to promote his economic policies. “We will make sure that we will respond to the Houthis if they continue this outrageous behavior, along with our allies,” he said. Asked by a reporter if he thought the strikes had been a success, Biden said: “Yes. Very. I don’t think there’s any civilian casualties. That’s another reason why it’s a success”. The president then offered reporters coffee, and said he would speak further about the military action following the campaign event. US military says strikes hit 30 targets in Yemen Air strikes by US and UK forces on Houthi targets in Yemen hit nearly 30 targets, using more than 150 munitions, the Pentagon says. The figure is higher than previously announced, Reuters said. Lt Gen Douglas Sims, director of the Joint Staff, told reporters at a Friday afternoon briefing that he did not expect a high number of casualties from the strikes on Thursday, since the targets included those in rural areas. Five people were killed and six injured in the strikes, reports said. Sims added that Washington expected the Houthis to attempt to retaliate, adding the group had fired an anti-ship ballistic missile earlier in the day that did not hit any ships. Israel has criticized the United Nations human rights office after it released a statement marking Sunday’s 100th day of the conflict with Hamas without calling for the release of hostages held in Gaza, according to AFP. The Geneva-based office of the high commissioner for human rights (OHCHR) issued a statement Friday that said: This Sunday will mark 100 days since Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups launched their horrific attack on Israel, in which 1,200 people, mostly Israelis, were killed and around 250 taken hostage. On the conduct of hostilities, we have repeatedly highlighted Israel’s recurring failures to uphold the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law: distinction, proportionality, and precautions in carrying out attacks. Breaches of these obligations risk exposure to liability for war crimes. It called for a ceasefire to “end the appalling suffering and loss of life” and allow the prompt and effective delivery of humanitarian aid, angering the Israeli mission in Geneva. “Not one word demanding the release of the hostages held in Gaza. Not one mention of terrorism,” it said in a post to X. “A call for a ceasefire, without demanding the release of our hostages and the disarming of Hamas, is a call for terrorism to win.” Iran: US and UK airstrikes "violation of international law" Iran has issued sharp new criticism of strikes by the US and UK on Houthi targets in Yemen, calling them “arbitrary” and a “violation” of international law, AFP reports. Foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani said Iran, which backs the Houthi rebels, as well as Hamas and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, “strongly condemns the military attacks… this morning on several Yemeni cities”: [They were] an arbitrary action, a clear violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Yemen, and a violation of international laws and regulations. The US, UK, and allies said in a joint statement after the air strikes that their goal “remains to de-escalate tensions and restore stability in the Red Sea”. But Kanani warned that the attacks “will have no result other than fueling insecurity and instability in the region”, as well as “diverting the world’s attention from the crimes” in Gaza, where Israel is fighting Hamas. Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian voiced his own support the Houthis on X, formerly Twitter. “Yemen’s action in supporting the women and children of Gaza and confronting the Israeli regime’s genocide is commendable,” he said. State television aired footage of pro-Palestinian rallies in Tehran and other Iranian cities, and later broadcast images from a protest outside the British embassy in Tehran with people waving Palestinian and Yemeni flags, AFP said. Summary of the day so far At least 23,708 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza since the war began, according to the latest figures by the territory’s health ministry on Friday. More than 151 Palestinians have been killed and 248 injured in Gaza in the previous 24 hours, it said. All internet and telecom services in Gaza have been cut on Friday as a result of the Israeli bombardment, the main operator Paltel said. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said it has completely lost communication with its teams operating in the Gaza Strip for at least three hours. Yemen’s Houthis threatened retaliation and tens of thousands people took to the streets of the country’s capital after Thursday’s late-night bombing by the US and UK of dozens of sites in rebel-held territory. A spokesperson for the Houthi military, accused “the American-British enemy” of launching brutal aggression “as part of its support for the continuation of Israeli crime in Gaza”. The intervention “will not go unanswered and unpunished” he said. The US and the UK launched air and missile strikes in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, aimed at halting attacks on ships in the Red Sea, Washington and London announced overnight on Friday. Five people were killed and six injured in the overnight offensive that the Houthis said on Friday had targeted 73 sites in the capital Sana’a, around the port city of Hodeidah and three other regions. The strikes were designed to deter and prevent the Houthis from launching more attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it received a report on Friday of a missile being fired towards a vessel in the Red Sea about 90 nautical miles south-east of Aden in Yemen. British maritime security firm Ambrey said the vessel was mistakenly targeted by the Houthis based on outdated publicly available information linking the ship to the UK. The UKMTO later said it received several reports of small boats approaching merchant shipping in the vicinity of 80 nautical miles south-east of Aden. The US is “not interested” in a war with Yemen but will not “hesitate to take further action” in response to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, the White House has said on Friday. The US is still assessing the impact of the airstrikes on Houthis in Yemen, the White House’s national security spokesperson, John Kirby, earlier said. Yemen’s Houthi spokesperson, Mohammed Abdulsalam, said the group would continue targeting ships heading towards Israel and that there was no justification for the US-Britain attack on Yemen. On Thursday, the group’s leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, said it would respond with more attacks on western shipping if Yemen was struck. The internationally recognised government of Yemen has said it holds Houthis “responsible for dragging the country into a military confrontation” in the Red Sea. Countries across the Middle East have expressed fears over the latest escalation of the conflict in the region after the US and UK’s overnight strikes against Yemen’s Houthis. The Iran-backed Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah said it “strongly condemn[ed] the blatant American-British aggression” against Yemen, which it said had stood with the Palestinian people. Iran itself was also quick to condemn the attacks. Hamas said the US and Britain would bear responsibility for the impact of their attack on the security of the region. Turkey has claimed the US and UK are intent on turning the Red Sea into a bloodbath. The British prime minister, Rishi Sunak, has said the UK needs to send a “strong signal” that Houthi rebel attacks in the Red Sea are wrong and cannot be carried out with “impunity”. Sunak has said he will make a statement to MPs on Monday about “limited and necessary” military strikes in Yemen. In a legal position published on Friday, the UK said it was permitted under international law to use force to target Houthi facilities. A bipartisan chorus of lawmakers assailed Joe Biden for failing to seek congressional approval before authorizing military strikes against targets in Houthi targets in Yemen. Biden, who served 36 years in the Senate, including as chair of the foreign relations committee, notified Congress but did not request its approval. Israel has accused South Africa of presenting a “profoundly distorted” view “barely distinguishable” from Hamas as it presented its defence at the international court of justice in The Hague against accusations of genocide. A day after South Africa argued that it had committed genocidal acts in Gaza with intent from “the highest levels of state”, Israel said on Friday that was a “partial and deeply flawed picture”. Israel has negotiated a deal with Qatar that will allow the delivery of medicines to hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, the Israeli prime minister’s office has said. The medications would be given to the hostages “in the next few days”, the office said in a statement on Friday. The UN humanitarian office has said Israeli authorities were systematically denying it access to northern Gaza to deliver aid and this had significantly hindered the humanitarian operation there. In separate comments, the UN human rights office said that Israel had repeatedly failed to uphold international humanitarian law. Jordan has said Israeli “war crimes” against Palestinians were to blame for heightened regional tension and violence in the Red Sea, which it said threatened to ignite a wider war in the Middle East. The Jordanian foreign minster, Ayman Safadi, said on Friday that the international community had failed to act to stop Israeli “aggression” against Palestinians, which was endangering the region’s security. Oil prices have hit $80 (£62.83) as fears grew about the economic impact of disruption to international trade through the Red Sea and escalating tensions in the Middle East. Raising concerns about a possible inflation shock for the world economy, Brent crude prices jumped by about 4% to a high of $80.75 a barrel on Friday. Yemen’s Houthis threatened retaliation and tens of thousands people took to the streets of the country’s capital after Thursday’s late-night bombing by the US and UK of dozens of sites in rebel-held territory. Five people were killed and six injured in the overnight offensive that the Houthis said on Friday had targeted 73 sites in the capital Sana’a, around the port city of Hodeidah and three other regions. The UK and US defended the attacks, which marked a major escalation of the crisis in the Middle East triggered by the Israel-Gaza war, but leaders in the region condemned them for inflaming tensions in an already volatile climate. A vast crowd of people waving Yemeni and Palestinian flags and chanting “death to America, death to Israel,” gathered in Sana’a’s central square to protest against the western bombing, and other protests took place in at least two other major cities in Houthi-controlled areas of the country. Yahya Sare’e, a spokesperson for the Houthi military, accused “the American-British enemy” of launching brutal aggression “as part of its support for the continuation of Israeli crime in Gaza”. The intervention “will not go unanswered and unpunished” he said. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said it has completely lost communication with its teams operating in the Gaza Strip following the telecom services blackout in the territory. Posting to social media, the PRCS said communication has been “completely cut off” with its Gaza teams for the past three hours. It said this disruption increases the challenges that its emergency services face in reaching the wounded and injured across Gaza. "Gaza is blacked out again": operator says all telecom services cut All internet and telecom services in Gaza have been cut on Friday as a result of the Israeli bombardment, the main operator Paltel said. US "will not hesitate to take further action" against Houthis if necessary, says White House The US is “not interested” in a war with Yemen but will not hesitate to take further action in response to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, the White House has said. “We’re not interested in ... a war with Yemen. We’re not interested in a conflict of any kind here,” White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Air Force One, according to Reuters. Everything the president has been doing has been trying to prevent any escalation of conflict, including the strikes last night. Asked about the impact of the strikes on Houthi capabilities, he said a “battle damage assessment” was still being done and that could take some hours yet, the BBC reported. He added that he would not get into hypotheticals about future military actions in the region, but that the US would not “hesitate to take further action” if necessary, it said. Kirby added: The Houthis are the ones that escalated here. They have a choice to make. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it received several reports of small boats approaching merchant shipping in the vicinity of 80 nautical miles south-east of Yemen’s port city of Aden. In an update posted to social media, UKMTO said two small boats were reported to have followed a merchant vessel for more than an hour. The merchant vessel reported no weapons were sighted, it said. The US has announced new sanctions aimed at cracking down the financial network funding Houthi rebels in Yemen. Washington announced sanctions on two companies – Hong Kong-based Cielo Maritime and UAE-based Global Tech Marine Services – which it said have been involved in the shipment of Iranian commodities on behalf of the network of the Houthi financial facilitator, Sa’id al-Jamal. The US Treasury Department said in a statement: The revenue from the commodity sales supports the Houthis and their continued attacks against international shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. In a separate statement, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the US would “continue to counter illicit Iranian financial support to the Houthis”. Houthis target ship carrying Russian oil after being "mistakenly linked to UK" - report We reported earlier that the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it received a report of a missile being fired towards a vessel in the Red Sea about 90 nautical miles south-east of Yemen’s port city of Aden. Reuters reported that the British maritime security firm Ambrey said: This was the second tanker mistakenly targeted by the Houthis whilst carrying Russian oil. “A Panama-flagged tanker sighted three skiffs while transiting eastbound through the International Recommended Transit Corridor,” Reuters reported that the Ambrey report said. It said the vessel reported a missile hitting the water. The firm assessed that the vessel was mistakenly targeted based on outdated publicly available information linking the vessel to the UK: This appeared to be five months old but was still listed as UK-affiliated on a public maritime database.