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The footage, provided by the UK Ministry of Defence, shows Royal Air Force weapons technicians preparing a Typhoon FGR4 fighter aircraft.
© As1 Leah Jones/MoD Crown Copyright 2024/UK Ministry of Defense/dpa
The USA wants to bring the powder keg of the Middle East under control with air strikes against pro-Iranian militias.
But does it work?
The overview.
Washington/London/Gaza - Against the backdrop of the Gaza war, the USA is increasing pressure against pro-Iranian militias in the Middle East.
Together with British forces, the US Air Force again attacked Houthi positions in Yemen on Sunday night.
With the support of other countries, 36 targets in 13 locations were attacked, the US Department of Defense said in Washington.
Just the day before, the Americans had carried out extensive air strikes against militias in Iraq and Syria that, like the Houthis, are allied with Iran and had recently killed three US soldiers in a drone strike in Jordan.
At Russia's instigation, the World Security Council is scheduled to address the retaliatory strikes on Monday.
Moscow accuses Washington of deliberately wanting to escalate the conflict in the Middle East.
Houthi: Will respond to escalation with escalation
The militias act in solidarity with the Islamist Hamas, which is fighting against the army of US ally Israel in the Gaza Strip.
Since the start of the Gaza war almost four months ago, the Houthis in Yemen have repeatedly targeted merchant ships with alleged Israeli connections in the Red Sea.
The stated goal of the United States and its allies is to weaken the Houthis' military capabilities and thus protect the shipping route that is important for global trade.
The new strike is not an escalation, said British Defense Minister Grant Shapps.
Rather, innocent lives should be protected and freedom of navigation preserved.
However, the Houthis want to continue their attacks in the Red Sea.
The bombings “will not change our position,” said Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the militant Houthi movement’s politburo.
“We will respond to escalation with escalation.”
Meanwhile, US forces fired again at a Houthi anti-ship missile on Sunday morning.
The US Central Command announced on the platform
Pressure is growing on Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu
Meanwhile, thousands of people demonstrated in Israel to increase pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to do more to release the hostages in the Gaza Strip.
The more than 130 hostages have been held by Hamas for 120 days now.
Netanyahu is accused of prioritizing efforts to free the hostages to his own political survival.
Netanyahu governs together with ultra-right religious parties.
Its leaders are threatening to break up the governing coalition if Netanyahu makes concessions to Hamas.
Hamas wants to comment on a possible ceasefire soon
A proposal recently negotiated in Paris by mediators the United States, Egypt and Qatar, which envisages the gradual release of the hostages in return for a longer ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners, is said to have been accepted by Israel's negotiators.
The draft framework is now available to Hamas for adoption.
The draft is currently being discussed and will announce its own position on it “soon,” said Osama Hamdan, a representative of the exiled Hamas political leadership in Beirut, to the German Press Agency on Sunday night.
Without a ceasefire there will be no release of hostages, Hamdan added.
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Hamas and other extremist groups attacked southern Israel on October 7th, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping around 250 hostages.
Israel responded to the worst massacre in its history with massive air strikes and a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.
In the only ceasefire to date in November, 105 hostages were exchanged for 240 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons.
There are currently 136 hostages being held in the coastal area on the Mediterranean.
Israel assumes that almost 30 of them are no longer alive.
What will be important on Sunday
The rapid succession of military operations by the USA and its partners against pro-Iranian militias is keeping the world in suspense.
Meanwhile, the USA and other mediating states continue to wait for a statement from the Islamist Hamas on the latest proposal for a new ceasefire and the release of the hostages in the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, France's Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné is in Jordan as part of his Middle East trip.
dpa