UK to send jets to defend Saudi Arabia
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(AP) -- Britain says it will expand its military support to defend Saudi Arabia against attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels. In southern Yemen, the death toll from a Houthi missile strike on a government training camp rose to 73. And the United Nations warns of a humanitarian crisis in the besieged Yemeni city of Taiz, where Houthi strikes on Tuesday killed two people and wounded six.
Meanwhile, an Israeli attack on an apartment in Gaza killed two people and wounded others. The Israeli military said it had targeted a Hamas militant.
Britain Defense Secretary Wes Streeting said Royal Air Force Typhoon jets would “conduct defensive counter-air operations over Saudi Arabia, helping to protect Saudi cities, civilian populations and critical national infrastructure from Houthi attack.”
That means the British planes would shoot down airborne drones or missiles, but not strike Houthi targets on the ground, Streeting said.
The U.K. also is sending a military transport and an unspecified number of military advisers to Saudi Arabia, and is extending its offer to provide in-air refueling of Saudi planes operating against the Iran-backed rebels for another 90 days, Streeting said.
The Israeli attack on Gaza before dawn Tuesday killed a husband and wife and wounded others, according to Shifa Hospital. The Israeli military said it targeted a Hamas militant. Other Israeli strikes on Monday killed at least four people.
Israel’s military has killed more than 1,500 Palestinians in Gaza since Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire last year, according to the territory’s health ministry, which maintains detailed records and is regarded as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts.
The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its toll but says women and children account for nearly half of those killed.