NATO says US-led strikes on Houthis ‘defensive’

NATO on Friday said the US-led strikes on Yemen’s Houthis were aimed at protecting shipping through the Red Sea and urged Iran to “rein in its proxies”.

“These strikes were defensive, and designed to preserve freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most vital waterways. The Houthi attacks must end,” Dylan White, a spokesperson for the Western military alliance, said.

– AFP

Italy declined to take part in military action against Houthis, source says

Italy declined to take part in US and British strikes overnight against the Houthi group in Yemen, a government source said on Friday, explaining that Rome preferred to pursue a “calming” policy in the Red Sea.

The source, who did not want to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, also said the government would have needed parliamentary backing to take part in any military action, making swift approval impossible.

The United States and Britain struck multiple targets in Yemen from the air and the sea, while the Netherlands, Australia, Canada and Bahrain provided logistical and intelligence support, US officials have said.

– Reuters

Kremlin condemns US, British strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen

The Kremlin on Friday condemned overnight US and British military strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen and said they were “illegitimate” under international law.

“We condemn them,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

“You know that a (UN) resolution was adopted, we abstained, and the countries that carried out the strike attempted to provide an international legal basis for their actions.

“This attempt was unsuccessful, because the adopted resolution does not provide any right to carry out strikes, and, accordingly, from the point of view of international law, they are illegitimate.”

– Reuters

Hamas says US, UK strikes on Yemen threaten ‘regional security’

Hamas warned Friday of “repercussions” following US and British strikes on Yemen’s Huthis, allies of the Palestinian group who have carried out attacks on Red Sea shipping in solidarity with Gaza.

“We vigorously condemn the flagrant American-British attack on Yemen. We hold them responsible for the repercussions on regional security,” Gaza rulers Hamas said on Telegram.

– AFP

Source: News24.com