On the 31st, the United States condemned the Houthi missile attack on the UAE capital (Abu Dhabi). The attack coincided with the visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog to the UAE, while the Houthis stressed that if the Yemeni government did not agree to the terms of the peace, they would Internal and external actions will continue.
“We condemn the Houthis’ recent missile attack on Abu Dhabi,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a tweet hours after the UAE’s Defense Ministry announced it had intercepted a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis towards the UAE.
“As the President of Israel visits the UAE to build ties and strengthen stability across the region, the Houthis continue to carry out attacks, threatening civilians,” he added.
On the evening of the 30th, the UAE Ministry of Defense announced in a statement that its air defense system intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis towards the UAE.
“The attack did not cause any damage as remnants of the ballistic missile landed in non-populated areas,” the statement said.
On the other hand, Brigadier General Yahya Sariah, a Houthi military spokesman, confirmed in a statement that the group had achieved its goals by bombing Abu Dhabi with ballistic missiles and Dubai with drones.
“We conducted extensive operations in the UAE hinterland using Zulfiqar ballistic missiles, hitting landmarks and important targets (unspecified) in Abu Dhabi,” he added.
The spokesman reiterated his warning to citizens, residents and companies to “stay away from critical headquarters and facilities as they are easy targets in the next phase.”
(Al Jazeera)Houthi conditions
Meanwhile, Houthi leader Mohammad Bakhti said a political solution was possible in Yemen if the parties to the conflict had the will and determination.
In a series of tweets, Bakhti added that the Houthis are willing and determined to hold an intra-Yemen dialogue in any neutral country such as Yemen or Oman.
If parties calling for external intervention do not respond to calls for internal peace, the Houthis will continue military operations at home and abroad to liberate Yemen and break the siege, Bakhti said.
air traffic
Houthi media reported at dawn on the 31st that navigation at Abu Dhabi International Airport was disrupted due to what it called a military operation.
But the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority said air traffic is continuing as usual and all flights are operating as normal.
The Emirates News Agency quoted the Civil Aviation Authority as saying the interception of ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis had no impact on flights and airports.
Alliance Response
In response to the attack, the Saudi-led military coalition said it had destroyed a ballistic missile launcher in Jawf province, northeast of Yemen’s capital (Sanaa).
The UAE Ministry of Defence’s Joint Operations Command released a video clip it said showed damage to a ballistic missile platform and launch site, noting that the Houthis fired ballistic missiles towards the UAE from Al Jawf province.
Houthi media said in the early morning of the 31st that coalition warplanes launched eight raids on the site in Sanaa.
In recent days, the Houthis launched attacks on Emirati interests and locations starting on January 3, intercepting an Emirati cargo ship near Hodeidah Governorate (western Yemen), and then using drones on the 17th and 25th of the same month and ballistic missiles hit Abu Dhabi.
Herzog (centre) visits the UAE for the first time (European News Agency)Israel’s concern
The latest attack by the Houthis coincided with the Israeli president’s first visit to the UAE, where Herzog met Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and confirmed his full support for the UAE’s security demands.
Following the announcement of the Houthi attack, Israel’s presidential office said Herzog would continue to visit the UAE as planned, saying he was not in danger.
“The President was made aware of the details of the incident. There was no danger, and neither was the President and his accompanying delegation,” the office said in a statement.
There is controversy in the Israeli media over the Houthi bombings and their timing. Knesset member Zvi Hauser said the Houthis were trying to disrupt the Israeli president’s first visit to the UAE and affect relations between the two countries.
According to the Emirates News Agency, the Abu Dhabi crown prince said during a reception with the Israeli president that Israel’s stance on the attack on the UAE represented a general view of the source of the threat.
Since September 2014, Yemen has witnessed a nearly 7-year rift between pro-government forces backed by the Arab military coalition led by neighboring Saudi Arabia and the Iranian-backed Houthis, which control several provinces including the capital, Sanaa. years of war.
The United Nations says the war in Yemen will directly and indirectly kill 37,700 people by the end of 2021.
According to the United Nations, the war has cost the country an economy of about $126 billion and is one of the world‘s worst humanitarian and economic crises, with a large part of the country’s population (30 million people) dependent on aid.