Israel army released four more Lebanese civilians
Israel has released four more Lebanese civilians who had been detained by its forces in southern Lebanon. Ship traffic remains low on the Strait of Hormuz days after the US and Iran exchanged attacks for the first time in a month. And fighting has intensified in Yemen between Iran-backed rebels and Government forces.
Israel on Thursday said it had agreed to release them after Lebanon provided assistance in searching for the bodies of Lebanese Jewish leaders who went missing in the 1980s during Lebanon’s civil war.
Officials said the release comes as a result of US mediation and negotiations between Israel and Lebanon. Another round of talks is expected in Rome later this month. Ship traffic on the Strait of Hormuz remained low after the renewed US attacks on targets in Iran earlier this week and Iran’s retaliatory attacks in the region, including firing at US’ Gulf ally Kuwait on Thursday.
Fuel prices are again affected. Diesel hit a new record price in the US on Friday, soaring to an average of $5.85 a gallon for the first time ever. The benchmark US crude price rose above $91 a barrel with the new wave of uncertainty around traffic on the strait, which Iran continues to use as leverage after six months of war with the US. Fighting intensified overnight between Iran-backed Houthi rebels and Yemeni Government forces along Yemen’s west coast near an important supply route.
An official with the internationally recognised Government’s health ministry told The Associated Press there were an unspecified number of casualties on both sides in the fighting in mountainous Taiz province. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorised to speak with the media. A military official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorised to brief the media, confirmed casualties on both sides.
Jabal Nu’man overlooks a major supply route for Yemeni Government forces between Taiz province and Mokha, a port city heavily targeted by the Houthis in recent weeks. The Houthis’ expansion of attacks in these areas appears to indicate an effort to gain full control of the Bab el-Mandeb strait, the southern gateway to the Red Sea, according to Moahmed Abdelrahman, a Taiz province spokesperson.
