Houthis release footage of downed Saudi jet

The Houthis say they shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet over Marib province, using a locally made surface-to-air missile, while the jet was carrying out strikes in support of Saudi-backed forces. Footage released by the Houthis' Ansar Allah Media Centre shows burning wreckage in the desert, with fighters posing next to a piece of the plane appearing to show a Saudi flag.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree announced the downing on Wednesday, framing it as a response to a week of intense Saudi strikes, he says Saudi Arabia has hit Yemen more than 450 times in the past week alone. In the same statement, the group also claimed it targeted a Saudi air base in the south and an oil facility in the Red Sea port city of Yanbu.

Netanyahu calls to strip citizenship of those who 'defame' Israeli army

In a video posted on his social media, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for the stripping of citizenship from those who "defame" the Israeli army.

His comments reflect anger from the Israeli government over the documentary NAZA, which featured soldiers testifying to the commission of war crimes in Gaza.

At least 21 dead after Israeli-hit building collapses in Gaza

A building in Gaza previously hit by Israeli forces collapsed on Wednesday, killing at least 21 people, as dozens more remained trapped under the rubble.

The Palestinian Civil Defence, Gaza's emergency and rescue agency, said the six-storey residential building on al-Sinaa Street in western Gaza City collapsed suddenly while residents were sleeping inside.

More than 10 families, totalling around 80 people, lived in the building, according to residents. 

The Palestinian health ministry said the bodies of 21 people, including 12 children, were recovered, while more than 14 others were rescued with injuries.

Houthis 'don't care' about populations' needs: Mohammed Albasha

With 100,000 Yemenis displaced amid the recent Houthi territorial gains in Yemen and Saudi strikes, an existing humanitarian crisis has only been compounded.

Speaking to MEE Live, Mohammed Albasha of Basha Report, a Yemeni-American analyst, said that he Houthis focus more on generating income for their military operations than meeting the needs of the people.

This, he said, is why those who can choose to flee the areas under Houthi control.

Francesca Albanese's take on UK sanctions of settlements, "Seismic Shift" | UNAPOLOGETIC

Francesca Albanese (@francesca.albanese.unsr.opt) spoke to @ashfaaqC and described the UK's decision to sanction settlement activity in the West Bank as "Of course, it's small, and of course it's little", she also said it was a "seismic shift" and that "this has been the strongest condemnation ever issued by the UK government"

Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/3wPawZE4GWk?si=buSPHdbIj-8DuHJm

How the Houthis ‘shattered' the government forces' moral

The Houthis "shattered" the morale of the Yemeni Armed Forces, which has been key in their successful advancements this week, said Ibrahim Jalal.
 
Speaking on MEE Live, Jalal, a policy advisor and senior Yemeni analyst, said that the group's ability to exploit fracturing among opposing forces secured their ability to press forward into taking more territory.
 
Will it hold? Watch the latest episode of MEE Live on our YouTube channel now.

‘There is no genocide’: Congresswoman Haley Stevens challenged over Israel’s actions in Gaza

US Representative Haley Stevens walked away from questions about her support for Israel’s actions in Gaza, saying she is “proud to be a Zionist” while repeatedly rejecting claims that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

Stevens support for Israel became a central issue in the recent Michigan Democratic Senate primary, where AIPAC and affiliated groups spent tens of millions of dollars backing her campaign. Stevens narrowly lost the primary to Abdul El-Sayed, who had made opposition to AIPAC and criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza central to his campaign.

Why Israel's next government could be even more far-right

Israeli politicians briefly united last week to condemn the 'NAZA' documentary exposing the Israeli military's AI targeting system in Gaza.

Then, they went back to fighting with each other. With just over a month until the country's elections, what are they still arguing about? And has the far-right already won?

Israeli actress Sarai Givaty's child terrorist remarks reemerge and draws Nazi comparisons

Israeli actress Sarai Givaty's remarks justifying Israel's killing of children in Gaza by arguing that, "they will grow up to be terrorists," has remerged online.

UN Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese has compared the comments to arguments the Nazis gave during the Nuremberg Trials to justify their killing of children during the Holocaust.

NAZA film sees through the Israeli mask

Soumaya Ghannoushi, a writer and expert in Middle East politics, argues that attempts to suppress artists and filmmakers speaking about Palestinian suffering are ultimately feeble.

Speaking about the political backlash faced by Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor over their Gaza documentary NAZA, Ghannoushi says efforts to silence or intimidate artists will not work.

She argues that while institutions may be able to control who gets access to stages and platforms, they will not succeed in supressing the truth about Palestine. She draws comparisions to the Vietnam War and Apartheid South Africa where artists became oustpoken critics.

Francesca Albanese on NAZA, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor's Gaza documentary | UNAPOLOGETIC

"The moment the enemy recognises your pain, is no longer the enemy."

Francesca Albanese on the debate within the Palestine movement over NAZA, and Israeli voices being platformed over Palestinian ones.

Full episode available on our channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wPawZE4GWk

UNAPOLOGETIC is hosted by Ashfaaq Carim.

Ed Sheeran fans react to singer’s Gaza statement after Macklemore controversy

Ed Sheeran fans in Philadelphia gave mixed reactions to the controversy surrounding the singer’s concert after he addressed Gaza on stage.

The controversy began after rapper Macklemore, who was opening for Sheeran, made comments in solidarity with Palestine during a performance in New Jersey, including saying “Free Palestine” and performing his protest song “Hind’s Hall”.

Macklemore was subsequently removed from the remaining US dates of Sheeran’s tour after venue owners, including billionaire Robert Kraft, objected to his participation.
Kraft said the decision followed Macklemore’s recent comments and accused the rapper of antisemitism.

Sheeran and the tour’s producers ultimately conceded to the pressure, and Macklemore was removed from the remaining dates.

Saudi air strike targets a local market in a village near Bab al-Mandeb in Yemen

Footage released by Yemen’s Houthis shows what they say is a Saudi air strike targeting a local market in a village near the Bab al-Mandab Strait.


The Houthis now control strategic coastal areas overlooking the strait after seizing them from Saudi-backed government forces.

JD Vance blames Iran for rising oil prices

US Vice President JD Vance says the reason oil prices are rising in the US is “because the Iranians continue to fire missiles and drones at commercial shipping”, failing to mention the role the US-Israeli war on Iran played in the disruption to international shipping. 

“This is fundamentally about the Iranians. If the Iranians want to terrorise international shipping, we, of course, are going to do everything that we can to push back against that,” says Vance, in an interview with Newsmax.

Iran’s Pezeshkian accuses US of ‘trampling’ on MoU ahead of UN General Assembly

Speaking in Tehran before heading to New York for the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accused the US of trampling on its agreement to end the war with Iran. 

“They are blocking the routes, they are blocking the air routes, they are blocking the land routes, they want to stir up internal divisions. But we will, God willing, render all of this futile by the grace of God,” he said, referring to new US sanctions on 27 Iranian air carriers as part of a wider sanctions project aimed at blocking Iran's access to the global economy.

‘People had given up on Gaza’: Norman Finkelstein on The David Hearst Podcast

“The moment you say it’s a war, Israel has won the propaganda war.”

Norman G. Finkelstein joins David Hearst to discuss his new book, Gaza’s Gravediggers, the evidence behind claims arising from 7 October, changing attitudes towards Israel among American Jews, Ed Miliband, international law—and why he argues that what happened in Gaza was not a war, but a genocide.

The full episode of The David Hearst Podcast will be released tomorrow, Wednesday, on Middle East Eye’s YouTube channel.

Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don’t miss it.

Macron calls Gaza ‘a spectacle that shames us all’ at UNGA address

Speaking at the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York, French President Emmanuel Macron slams world leaders’ inactivity in the face of Israel’s violations of the Palestinian people’s right to exist. 

“What is our credibility worth if we remain inactive on Gaza? Some claim that peace has been achieved, but this has not opened up humanitarian deliveries for a second. Are we to just watch this spectacle that shames us all?,” he said.

Who Controlled the Narrative After 7 October? | Norman Finkelstein

"The moment you say it’s a war, Israel has won the propaganda war.”

Norman G. Finkelstein joins David Hearst to discuss his new book, Gaza’s Gravediggers, the evidence behind claims arising from 7 October, changing attitudes towards Israel among American Jews, Ed Miliband, international law—and why he argues that what happened in Gaza was not a war, but a genocide.

The David Hearst Podcast latest episode is now out, watch it now on Middle East Eye’s YouTube channel.
https://youtu.be/d03UK9jO1fw

Medics smuggle iPhones into Gaza to film documentary

“I am not the same person I was before I went to Gaza.”

In this interview, British Iraqi war surgeon Dr Mohammad Tahir and filmmaker Mike Lerner discuss The Mission, a documentary following Tahir’s medical missions to Gaza. The film offers an unfiltered look at the reality of working inside Gaza’s hospitals, from treating patients in overwhelmed medical facilities to witnessing the immense pressures faced by local medical teams.

The Mission contains graphic footage from inside Gaza’s hospitals. Viewer discretion is advised.

Israel orders 187-year-old British consulate in Jerusalem shut within 30 Days

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar announced the closure of Britain's consulate in East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, giving diplomats 30 days to leave, a facility that has operated in the city since 1838, predating the State of Israel by over a century.

The move came hours after UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced a ban on imports from Israeli West Bank settlements and accused Israel of turning a blind eye to what he called the "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians. France and Canada joined the measure the same day, with nine more countries backing it.

Sa'ar also banned 11 to 12 British MPs from entering Israel and ordered UK staff off the Gaza coordination mission within a week, as senior Israeli officials including President Isaac Herzog and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir publicly slammed the UK's decision.