Middle East updates: Israel orders evacuation from safe zone

Firefighters were struggling to contain a massive blaze at Yemen's Houthi-held Hodeida port, days after a Israeli strike hit oil tanks and a power plant in the harbor.

Massive flames and thick smoke could be seen rising above the area for a third consecutive day, according to eyewitnesses.

Emergency services appeared to have made little progress, French news agency AFP reported, since the attack that the Houthis said killed 6 port workers. The rebel group is backed by Iran and have increasingly targeted shipping in the Red Sea that they say will continue until there is a cease-fire in Gaza and Israel lifts its siege of Gaza.

The Israeli airstrikes — in response to a deadly Houthi drone strike on Tel Aviv — were the first time Israel is known to have struck inside Yemen throughout its nine-month war against Hamas in Gaza.

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has said that athletes from Israel will have extra security protection during the Olympic Games that begin in Paris on Friday.

Darmanin spoke about the situation in a television interview after a far-left lawmaker had called for the Israeli delegation to be banned over civilian deaths in Gaza.

Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said that "on behalf of France, to the Israeli delegation, we welcome you to France for these Olympic Games." Sejourne also committed to robust security for the athletes.

This summer's games marks 52 years since Israeli athletes were attacked at the Munich Olympics by Palestinian militant group Black September Organization and eleven members of the team were killed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters before departing for Washington that the US would always be an ally "regardless of who the American people choose as their next president."

Netanyahu lands in Washington a day after US President Joe Biden announced that he was exiting the presidential contest this November and was endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor.

"I will tell my friends on both sides of the aisle that regardless who the American people choose as their next president, Israel remains America's indispensable and strong ally in the Middle East," he told reporters before taking off.

"In this time of war and uncertainty it's important that Israel's enemies know that America and Israel stand together today, tomorrow and always," Netanyahu said, adding he wanted to "anchor the bipartisan support that is so important for Israel."

Netanyahu's office described it as a "very important" visit as the Israeli leader prepares to address a joint meeting of US Congress for the fourth time on Wednesday.

A meeting with Biden is tentatively planned for Tuesday if Biden has recovered from Covid-19.

The Israeli military has ordered Palestinians to leave an area in Gaza it had designated as a protected humanitarian zone.

The eastern part of the Muwasi area, which is located in the southern Gaza Strip, will now be the target of an operation against Hamas militants, the Israeli military said.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been uprooted multiple times since Israel launched its campaign against Hamas militants in Gaza following the militants' deadly attack on Israel on October 7.

Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by many countries including the US, Israel and Germany.

Civilians are now clustered in tent camps along the Mediterranean that lack water and sanitary conditions, as well as access to aid. 

Meanwhile, negotiations to broker a cease-fire agreement and a hostage deal between Hamas and Israel continue, with US and Israeli officials expressing hope that an agreement is closer than ever.

A negotiating team will be sent to continue talks on Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on the weekend.

es/rm (Reuters, AFP, AP)