Yemen rebels join Israel-Hamas war

Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels on Wednesday said they launched a drone attack towards Israel as Tehran and Turkey called for a regional conference aimed at averting the spread of the Israel-Hamas war.

"The Yemeni armed forces launched a large batch of drones during the past hours at several targets… in occupied Palestine, and they reached their goals," a Huthi military statement said Thursday, referring to West Bank.

"The Yemeni armed forces will continue to carry out their military operations in support" of the Palestinian people, the statement added.

The latest attack came a day after the Huthis pledged more attacks against Israel if its war on Hamas in Gaza continues, saying it had already fired drones and ballistic missiles in three separate operations.

Israel has been pounding Gaza since the 7 October attack by Hamas terrorists who stormed across the border and, according to Israeli officials, killed more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped more than 230 others.

Israel's retaliatory bombing campaign has killed 8,796 people, mainly women and children, according to Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry.

On Tuesday, the Huthis claimed an attack with drones and ballistic missiles on Israel.

Israel's military said a "hostile aircraft intrusion" had set off warning sirens in Eilat, its Red Sea resort.

It later said it had intercepted a missile fired toward Israeli territory.

Israel had blamed the Huthis for another drone attack on Friday, saying its aircraft had intercepted "hostile targets" headed for the south of the country.

US support

Meanwhile, Iran Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said a peace conference involving "Muslim and Arab" countries should be held "as soon as possible."

Besides Yemen, Iran — which financially and militarily backs Hamas but insists it had no involvement in the 7 October attack — also has loyalists and proxy fighters in Iraq and Syria.

Since the Gaza conflict began, there have been a string of attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria as well as almost daily exchanges of fire across the Israel-Lebanon border between Hezbollah and the Israeli army.

In Washington, hardline Republicans in the United States House of Representatives are pushing for a bill giving military aid to Israel.

The lower chamber of the US Congress will hold a vote Thursday on a bill solely for Israel

US President Joe Biden had requested for a combined $106 billion assistance for both Israel and Ukraine.

Amid partymates' demand for an immediate end to Ukraine military funding, Speaker Mike Johnson said measures to support Ukraine would be discussed later.

The situation is drastically different in the Democrat-controlled Senate, where most Republicans have voiced support for boosting aid to Ukraine.