US LAUNCHES NEW MISSILE STRIKE ON HOUTHI TARGET IN YEMEN

 The US carries out a new attack on a Houthi site in Yemen, a day after wider attacks led by the US and the UK. In what the US calls a "follow-up action" to Thursday night's attacks, a US ship fired missiles at a radar site

1. The Houthis say there were no injuries, and vow a "strong and effective" response
2. The US says this week's attacks are "designed to degrade the Houthis' ability to attack maritime vessels"
3. In an apparent Houthi attack on Friday night, a missile landed around 500 metres from an oil tanker in the Red Sea
4. In Gaza, Israel's bombardment continued overnight, with dozens reportedly killed in Gaza City and the central Gaza Strip
5. The Israeli military says it "eliminated terrorists" in Khan Younis in the south, and destroyed rocket launchers and tunnels
6. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says 23,843 have been killed there since 7 October - that's an increase of 135 from Friday's total.

7. How separate are Yemen and Gaza? It depends who you ask

   

   Frank Gardner

   Security correspondent

   The official Western government line on the ongoing airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen is that these are quite separate from the war in Gaza. They are "a necessary and proportionate response" to the unprovoked and unacceptable Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, they say.

   In Yemen and the wider Arab world they are viewed rather differently.

   There, they are seen as the US and UK joining in the Gaza war on the side of Israel, since the Houthis have declared their actions to be in solidarity with Hamas and the people of Gaza. One theory even says that "the West is doing Netanyahu’s bidding".

   It is still possible that these airstrikes will have a chilling effect on the Houthis. They will certainly degrade their capacity to attack ships in the short term.

   But the longer these airstrikes persist, the greater the risk that the US and UK get sucked into another conflict in Yemen.

   It has taken the Saudis more than eight years to extricate themselves from there - and the Houthis are now more entrenched than ever.

8. Israel pauses fighting in Rafah as residents describe 'unimaginable' strikes

   

   ReutersCopyright: Reuters

   This picture taken in Rafah on 10 January shows damage following Israeli strikesImage caption: This picture taken in Rafah on 10 January shows damage following Israeli strikes

   In Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has announced a "temporary tactical suspension of military activities for humanitarian purposes" in Rafah until 14:00 local time (12:00 GMT).

   It follows a night of Israeli attacks on the southern city, where many from elsewhere in Gaza have sought shelter.

   Samir Qeshta says his home was "completely destroyed" in the bombardment.

   "This house sheltered me and my children. I was preparing my son to get married and live in it as I furnished it," he tells the AFP news agency.

   "We are peaceful people, they struck us without prior warning. I was visiting my sister and my wife was at her parents' house."

   Nimma al-Akhras was at home when the bombardment began.

   "The strike was unimaginable," she says. "We started screaming and I couldn't move until someone carried me and put me on a cart.

   "What did we do wrong? We were just sitting. It's not safe in our homes nor outside. Where can we possibly go?"

   As a reminder, Israel says it targets terrorists and their infrastructure - and that it tries to minimise civilian casualties.

9. THIS AND MANY MORE UPDATES AT: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-67964913