Live Updates: Blasts reported near ship off Yemen as Israel pummels Gaza

Wednesday, January 3, 2024

02:00 GMT - British maritime security agency UKMTO has reported explosions near a cargo ship in the strategic Bab al Mandeb Strait, which separates the Arabian Peninsula from the Horn of Africa.

United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said it had received reports of up to three explosions 1-5 nautical miles from the merchant vessel, which was travelling between the coasts of Eritrea and Yemen.

"Master reports no damage to the vessel and crew are reported safe at present," the agency, run by Britain's Royal Navy, said in a brief message. "Authorities are investigating."

In recent weeks, Yemen's Houthi rebels have launched a flurry of drone and missile strikes targeting commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea and the Bab al Mandeb Strait that connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.

01:58 GMT - France will not support ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza

France will not support the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza by Israel, Nicolas de Riviere, the permanent representative of France to the UN, has said.

"France is opposed to the forced displacement of populations. That's very clear-cut...We will not support the forced displacement of people," de Riviere told reporters.

"It's more or less obvious that the Gaza Strip is inhabited by Palestinians. Our goal is for Palestinians to be able to continue living there in safety and security and under good conditions. That should be the priority."

De Riviere said shutting people out of Gaza or recolonising Gaza are "harebrained ideas," adding it is essential to put an end to the military invasion and not to target civilians.

00:30 GMT - Israeli army 'abducted Palestinian children, transferred them out of Gaza'

The Israeli military has abducted Palestinian children and transferred them out of Gaza, a human rights monitor has said, calling on Israel to return the children to their parents.

The Geneva-based Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said in a statement on its website that it "takes very seriously the information published by Israeli Army Radio on 1 January 2024 regarding the kidnapping of a Palestinian infant from inside her Gaza family home by Israeli officer Harel Itach, a commander in the Givati Brigade, after the killing of her family members."

"Following the news that the Israeli officer died on 22 December 2023 from injuries sustained during fighting in Gaza, a friend of Itach's disclosed the kidnapping incident and said that the little girl's whereabouts remain unknown," it added.

For our live updates from Tuesday, January 2, click here.