Day 580
Hamas says — Yes! Sir Yes! Sir — three bags Full — Anything else...

From: The Times of Israel May 7, 2025
Trump announces US truce with Houthis, who say their strikes on Israel will continue

President says rebel group agreed to cease attacks on US vessels, in what Omani mediator says will ensure Red Sea freedom of navigation;

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the US would stop bombing Yemen’s Houthis after the Iran-backed group had agreed to stop interrupting important shipping lanes in the Middle East.

The announcement:
1. did not mention the ongoing Houthi attacks on Israel,
2. and a spokesman for the Yemeni rebel group pledged that such strikes would continue.

Israel caught off guard by announcement:
Israeli officials told Hebrew media outlets that Washington did not give Jerusalem advance notice of the announcement, and that Israel was surprised by it.

After Trump made the announcement, Oman revealed that it had mediated the ceasefire deal under which neither side will target the other, including US vessels in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait. The agreement does not rule out attacks on any other Israel-linked vessels or targets.

US-Houthi ceasefire without Israel:

CNN cited people familiar with the matter as saying Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff had worked with the Omanis over the past week to broker the
US-Houthi ceasefire.

The sources said the ceasefire was also meant to help build momentum in the Omani-mediated Iran nuclear talks, which Witkoff has also been leading on behalf of the Trump administration.

During a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump said the Houthis had informed the White House that:
1. “they don’t want to fight anymore.”
2. “They say they will not be blowing up ships anymore, and that was the purpose of what we’ve been doing,”
3. “I think that’s very positive. They were knocking out a lot of ships sailing beautifully down the various seas.”

Speaking to CNN on Tuesday, a defense official confirmed that the US military had been instructed to halt attacks on the Houthis on Monday evening.

Trump declares truce with Houthis leaving Israel still at risk — Not the act of an ally

Asked later Tuesday about Houthi pledges to continue attacks against Israel, Trump responded:
1.“I’ll discuss that if something happens.”
2. “I don’t know about that, but I know one thing They want nothing to do with us,
3. and they let that be known through all of their surrogates,”

Ceasefire deal does not include Israel, Houthis say.

A ceasefire deal between Yemen's Houthis and the United States does not include sparing Israel, the group says, suggesting its shipping attacks that have disrupted global trade and challenged world powers will not come to a complete halt.

The hostages are the only leverage Hamas still has, they are short on weapons not on people many youngsters are joining the organization but without proper weapons and Israel's top notch military they don't have chance the Arabs and Egyptian leadership don't want a war with Israel.

From: The Times of Israel May 7, 2025

The head of Yemen’s Houthi supreme revolutionary committee, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, meanwhile, tweeted that the US halt of “aggression” against Yemen will be evaluated while also suggesting that his group will continue attacking Israel.

The head of Yemen’s Houthi Supreme Political Council, Mahdi al-Mashat said earlier Tuesday that the group would continue its attacks “in support of Gaza.”
He advised Israelis to “remain in shelters because their government will not be able to protect them.”

I am confused! — Trump loyalist Lindsey Graham, the Republican US senator from South Carolina, indicated in an X post that Israel would be on its own defending itself from Iran’s proxies.

1. “As to the Houthis continuing to attack Israel — they do so at Iran’s own peril.
2. Without Iran, the Houthis do not possess the capability to attack America, international shipping or Israel,”
3. “To my friends in Israel, do what you have to do to protect your airspace and your people.

Iran:
It is long past time to consider hitting Iran hard. It wouldn’t take much to put Iran out of the oil business.”

The Houthis — whose slogan calls for “death to America, death to Israel, a curse on the Jews” — have been firing at Israel and at shipping in the Red Sea since November 2023, saying that they were doing so in a show of solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.

The US military has said it has struck more than 1,000 targets since the start of its operation in Yemen, known as Operation Rough Rider, on March 15.
The strikes, the US military said, have killed “hundreds of Houthi fighters and numerous Houthi leaders.” Yet Still standing Still firing Still terrorizing

The difference — Israel was not at war then

Trump's first term was remarkable for Israel from the start.

Donald Trump, in his first visit anywhere overseas as president, spent two days in Israel in May 2017 stood with his head bowed at the Western Wall and highlighted what he said was his “privilege” to address the people of Israel in the ancient city of Jerusalem.

“I make this promise to you,” he declared in the final public event of his visit, at the Israel Museum, “my administration will always stand with Israel.”

“Iran’s leaders routinely call for Israel’s destruction,” Trump noted bitterly in that same speech, and then departed from the prepared text on the teleprompters to vow: “Not with Donald J Trump, believe me!”

His audience, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stood and cheered. “Thank you,” he said three times, as the applause went on and on.
And when it had finally faded, he waved out a hand and said, with a smile, “I like you too.” The room filled with a warm, appreciative rumble of laughter.

What is Trump up to this time?

All uncoordinated with Netanyahu — without evident influence:
1. Direct talks with Hamas,
2. confused dealings with Iran,
3. an unworkable vision for Gaza
4. and now an agreement with the Houthis without Israel

Israel can only hope there is much yet to be revealed.

From: The Times of Israel May 7, 2025
Flash forward eight years, Trump is back in the White House and is about to make his first trip to the region since reelection.

As in 2017 he will be going to Saudi Arabia.
Unlike in 2017 he said on Tuesday that he would not be visiting Israel this time.

The “very, very big announcement” he is teasing ahead of his departure could remake any understanding of what he is planning and doing in this region.
He may yet change his mind. That “very, very big announcement” better be a real zinger.

As things stand, Israel has widening cause for concern from a US president that our leadership and a sizable majority of the nation were confident would put Israel’s wellbeing high on his global agenda.

But for Israel, from a president with a proven first-term record of dramatic pro-Israel action —
1. recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights,
2. recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moving the US embassy here,
3. brokering the Abraham Accords,

JCPOA agreement:
and withdrawing from the Obama-led, terribly flawed 2015 JCPOA agreement on Iran’s nuclear program — the words and deeds in these first 100-plus days are increasingly worrying.

Perhaps the mercurial US president will yet change his plans and demonstrate his solidarity with Israel by finding time to drop in next week.

Perhaps he’s playing a game so clever that, when all is revealed:
1. Iran, the Houthis, Hamas et al will find themselves outmaneuvered and helpless,
2. and we’ll see Trump’s promised new Abraham Accords allies partnering with Israel,
3. and our nation vastly more secure.

Going up in flames:
With the US led by an unpredictable [and unreliable] leader the need for Israel to come together in its own defense has never been greater.

Israel has always championed its capacity to defend itself, by itself, but has also depended on core external allies for military, diplomatic and all manner of other practical and psychological support.

Since October 7, with the despicable rush to blame the victim — Israel, as it has struggled to defang Gaza’s entrenched, cynical, Hamas government and to secure the release of our hostages — that international support has been in perhaps unprecedentedly steep decline.

Yet Netanyahu continues:
1. to whip up internal divides,
2. by decrying all political and public opponents as tools of our enemies,
3. hacking away at all independent state institutions,
4. discrediting the judiciary

ultra-Orthodox community’s refusal to serve:
and upholding the ultra-Orthodox community’s refusal to serve even as the burden on our reserves forces weighs ever more heavily.

“Israel is an extraordinary nation from its founding.
It has faced external threats with creativity, resilience and triumph, and [the United States] will always be [its] strongest ally.

an admiring American said a few days later, at an Independence Day event at the Israeli Embassy in Washington DC on Monday:
Yet, Israel’s strength lies in its unity,” “Over the past 20 months, countless Israelis have sacrificed so much.

Spot on, Steve Witkoff, for it was he. Don't know... He had worked with the Omanis to broker the US-Houthi ceasefire without Israel
And we really, really need support, open and constructive consultation, and wise leadership from your administration, too.

Evidently, Israel’s leaders are having trouble exerting much influence. So we can only hope.

“The ties of the Jewish people to this Holy Land are ancient and eternal.
They date back thousands of years, including the reign of King David, whose star now flies proudly on Israel’s white and blue flag.”

So said Donald Trump, first-term president of the United States, in Jerusalem on May 23, 2017 — doing what his predecessor had failed to in stressing our connection to this land, on an early visit to Israel that his predecessor had chosen not to make.

“But a hopeful future for children in the Middle East requires the world to fully recognize the vital role of the state of Israel,”

Trump went on:
Amen to that.

From: BBC May 7, 2025

Houthis say:
1. US 'backed down'
2. Israel not covered by ceasefire

A senior Houthi official has rejected US President Donald Trump's claim the Yemeni armed group "capitulated" when agreeing a ceasefire deal, saying the US "backed down" instead.

"What changed is the American position, but our position remains firm," chief negotiator Mohammed Abdul Salam told Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV.

Abdul Salam also said the deal did not include an end to attacks on Israel, which has conducted two rounds of retaliatory strikes on Yemen this week.
The Houthis' support for the Palestinian people in Gaza "will not change", he added.

On Wednesday, Mohammed Abdul Salam said Trump's remarks were "a reflection of Washington's frustration after failing:
1. to protect Israeli ships
2. and contain the fallout of its involvement".

He also told Reuters news agency that "the agreement does not include Israel in any way, shape or form".
He reiterated they would also carry out strikes against the US if Washington resumes its attacks on Yemen.

Pro-Palestinian protesters cause $1M in damage to University of Washington engineering building, equipment

https://komonews.com/news/local/uni...g-funding-federal-government-spd-police#

From: The Jerusalem Post May 7, 2025
Netanyahu faces wake-up call as Trump keeps Israel in the dark over Houthis

“We were completely shocked. Israel was not informed before Trump made the statement,” an Israeli official told The 'Post'.

In Israel, officials were stunned by US President Donald Trump’s Oval Office announcement on Tuesday night, stating that his administration had reached an agreement with the Houthis, under which:
1. they would cease attacks on ships in the Red Sea
2. and the US would halt its strikes against them.

The presidential announcement doubly surprised Israel, as it came just hours after the US military provided a protective security umbrella for an Israeli strike in Yemen, safeguarding against any potential mishaps during the operation.

If the US strikes against the Houthis was so 'effective' why Israel was excluded — Is Israel still an ally...

How Trump’s America First Policy applies to Houthi ceasefire:
“America First” was Trump’s election promise, and this principle appears to be applied in the Houthi agreement.

The administration’s concern which prompted strikes on thousands of Houthi targets, was not their attacks on Israel but their blockade of the Red Sea, which disrupted the US economy.

Once maritime tranquility was secured, Trump considered the matter resolved, even if it meant allowing a brutal terrorist regime, now free to rearm, to persist.

Israel’s exclusion from prior notification and the agreement’s terms should serve as a wake-up call, especially as the US engages Iran on its nuclear program.

It seems clear that Israeli and American interests do not always align.
Who can guarantee that an Iran deal deemed favorable by Trump will be viewed similarly in Jerusalem?

This week, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s envoy to the Trump administration, will travel to Washington for talks ahead of Trump’s visit.

Meanwhile, Trump is officially scheduled to visit three Middle Eastern countries to sign major deals, with no current plans to visit Israel — unless Israel’s pressure and requests prompt a change.

Netanyahu insists that Israel is in constant coordination with the US and that Washington keeps Israel updated, including through channels like special envoy Steve Witkoff and Dermer.

However, this time, Washington kept Israel in the dark, raising suspicions that this may not be the first — or last — instance of the Trump administration concealing information from Israel.

First was [as far as we know...] direct negotiations with Hamas keeping Israel in the dark.

Netanyahu has no idea what the American government will do like the rest of the world, it's a strategy that non of their allies or enemies ever witnessed. It's Chaos and we all have to see what the next day in the White House brings.

From: Reuters May 8, 2025

Trump no longer demanding Saudis recognize Israel for nuclear deal with US — sources
But deal between Riyadh and DC said to be still far from reach;

Senator Graham says he opposes any pact with Saudis that excludes normalization with Jewish state.

The United States is no longer demanding Saudi Arabia normalize ties with Israel as a condition for progress on civil nuclear cooperation talks, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to Riyadh next week.

Dropping the demand that Saudi Arabia establish diplomatic relations with Israel would be a major concession by Washington. Under former US president Joe Biden, nuclear talks were an element of a wider US-Saudi deal tied to normalization and Riyadh’s goal of a defense treaty with Washington.

The kingdom has repeatedly said it would not recognize Israel without a guarantee of a viable path to a Palestinian state, frustrating Biden administration attempts to expand the Abraham Accords signed during Trump’s first term.

Under those accords, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco normalized relations with Israel.

Progress toward Saudi recognition of Israel has been halted by fury in Arab countries over the war raging in Gaza.
The nuclear talks had also stumbled over Washington’s non-proliferation concerns.

US official’s warning:

On Wednesday, Israel’s Channel 12 reported that in a meeting Tuesday night with families of the hostages, a senior member of the American negotiating team had criticized Israel for failing to take advantage of the emerging agreement with Saudi Arabia.

“If Israel doesn’t come to its senses, the price of missing out will be higher than ever before,” the official warned.

The official cautioned that Trump would no longer wait for Israel and was determined to move forward with the strategic agreement.
I am confused! — It wasn’t clear what the official was expecting Israel to do.

“The ceasefire agreement with the Houthis is just a prelude, and if Israel doesn’t wake up, the ‘Deal of the Millennium’ will also be finalized without it,” the official reportedly said, adding that “We hope Israel will get on board this historic train that’s already left the station.”

The official’s warning of a weakening alliance between Israel and the US greatly worried the families of the hostages, said the report, as US mediators play a major role in the ongoing negotiations to reach a hostage-ceasefire deal that could potentially set their loved ones free.

In a possible sign of a new approach, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that Saudi Arabia and the United States were on a “pathway” to a civil nuclear agreement when he visited the kingdom in April.

US National Security Council spokesman James Hewitt told Reuters in response to a request for comment:
“When we have something to announce, you will hear it from the President. Any reports on this are speculative,”

US Senator Lindsay Graham, a staunch Trump supporter, wrote on X in response to the report that he opposes any US-Saudi defense agreement that does not include Riyadh normalizing relations with Jerusalem.

Even without the normalization requirement for civil nuclear talks to progress, and despite unpacking the issue from a wider defense treaty, a deal is not yet in close reach, one of the sources said.

Saudi Arabia’s government media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump is moving forward with Middle East plans — excluding Israel.

Saudi Arabia and the United States are set to discuss a number of blockbuster economic deals during Trump’s visit next week, with the US poised to offer Saudi Arabia an arms package worth well over $100 billion, sources have told Reuters

Trump has said Riyadh should “round up” a planned investment package in the US to $1 trillion from an initial $600 billion.

The trip is Trump’s second visit abroad, after a short trip to Rome for the pope’s funeral, since he returned to office in January.
In his first term, a lavish trip to Saudi Arabia marked his first overseas stop.

Trump fostered close ties with Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, during his first term.

The country invested $2 billion in a firm formed by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and former aide, after Trump left office, and there are plans to build two Trump towers in Jeddah and Riyadh.

It is strange though. The GOP hasn't always been so focused on Israel, but evangelicals, partisan sorting and neoconservatism all helped change that.

Mr. Huckabee: It is about basic courtesy, respect — at least inform / confer with an ally who is being bombarded with deadly missiles by the same terrorists.

Besides such uncaring and insensitive comments in such dire circumstances — unbecoming of a diplomat as ally Israel grapples with US-Houthi truce fallout amongst their multi-fronted Day 581 war.

From: The Times of Israel May 8, 2025
Huckabee: US ‘isn’t required to get permission from Israel’ to cut deal with Houthis

Amid shock in Israel at Trump’s deal with Yemeni terror group, ambassador indicates in TV interview that US will only respond to Houthi attacks on Israel if American citizens hurt.

“The United States isn’t required to get permission from Israel to make some type of arrangement that would get the Houthis from firing on our ships,” Huckabee said in a clip from the full interview, set to air on the Israeli network this weekend.

His comments followed US President Donald Trump’s surprise announcement on Tuesday of a bilateral ceasefire agreement between the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen and the US, after which the rebel group vowed to continue its attacks on Israel.

Israel was not told in advance about the agreement, officials said.

It was announced by Trump two days after a Houthi missile impacted in the grounds of Ben Gurion Airport, a few hundred yards from the main control tower, lightly injuring several people and prompting most foreign airlines to halt flights to Israel.

Hostages: 'Those Who Are Alive Sit and Rot, and the Dead Are Decaying'

Mr. Huckabee: You do know? five Americans: 19 months after Hamas' October 7 massacre, Palestinian terror groups are still holding 59 dead and living men and women including five Americans — languishing in tunnel captivity for 581 days

From: The Times of Israel May 8, 2025
The former Arkansas governor told Channel 12 that his understanding of US policy on the issue came after speaking with Trump and US Vice President JD Vance.

“Here’s what I can tell you, because I had a conversation with both the president and the vice president last night,” Huckabee also said.
“There’s 700,000 Americans living in Israel. If the Houthis want to continue doing things to Israel and they hurt an American, then it becomes our business.”

Asked by Channel 12 to clarify whether he meant that the US would only intervene to fight the rebel group if a US citizen was hurt by a Houthi missile, the ambassador said, “It’s a matter of what becomes our immediate business.”

His remarks echoed those made by Trump, who, when asked about the Houthis pledging to continue attacking Israel notwithstanding their agreement with the US, responded, “I’ll discuss that if something happens.

Agence France-Presse May 9, 2025
After relentless U.S. bombing campaign, Yemen’s Houthis are biggest victors of truce

Analysts say truce agreement fails to curb ambitions of rebel group, which finds itself becoming increasingly indispensable in Iran’s eyes.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have emerged bruised but defiant from a blistering U.S. bombing campaign, cementing their role as one of the Middle East’s most powerful non-state actors after a truce with Washington.

U.S. President Donald Trump said the rebels had “capitulated” after the intense, seven-week campaign that came in response to Houthi threats to renew attacks on Red Sea shipping over Israel’s blockade on Gaza.

Rebel leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi slammed Trump’s remarks on Thursday, during Friday demonstrations
1. calling on supporters to celebrate “America’s great failure”
2. and labelling their campaign on the key shipping route a “total success.”

The rebels, who control swathes of Yemen, are the biggest winners of this truce, analysts told Agence France-Presse with an official confirming they will keep targeting Israeli ships in the key maritime waterway.

Agence France-Presse May 9, 2025

On Tuesday, Trump made his surprise announcement that the Houthis had agreed to stop attacking shipping lanes in the Red Sea, and said that the U.S. would halt its attacks on the Iran-backed group.

Thomas Juneau, a Middle East specialist at the University of Ottawa said
“It is at best a very unstable agreement The Houthis’ ambitions in the Red Sea, against Israel and in the region in general will not wind down,”

“This allows President Trump to claim victory, but ultimately, it is a very limited” [hollow] win, he said.

The Yemeni rebels have framed the ceasefire as a victory, regularly announcing throughout the escalation that they shot down MQ-9 drones and at least three F-18 aircraft.

These losses highlight “billions spent by the U.S.,” said Mohammed Albasha, of the U.S.-based Basha Report Risk Advisory, noting that “none of their senior commanders were harmed.”

The group operating out of hard-to-access mountain strongholds has withstood a decade of war against a well-armed, Saudi-led coalition.

Michael Shurkin of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think tank said
1. “The nature of Houthi rule and how they operate makes them doubly resistant to air strikes,”
2. “The Houthis as an organization are dispersed and rely on tribal networks.
3. They are classic guerrilla fighters and proficient at asymmetrical warfare,”

With Hamas and Hezbollah decimated by Israel, the Houthis have become Iran’s strongest ally.
“Their importance has increased,” said Juneau, adding that they had become “more indispensable in Iran’s eyes.”

Agence France-Presse May 9, 2025

Clara Broekaert, a researcher at the Soufan Center, said, “The current pause presents a strategic opportunity for the Houthis to rearm and reposition.”

Tehran provides them with “missile and drone technologies, military and intelligence support” but the rebels are “not puppets acting at Iran’s whim,” he said.
“Dependency works both ways” between Iran and the rebels, he said, adding that “this gives the Houthis significant bargaining power.”

A senior member of the Revolutionary Guards is part of one of the Houthis’ essential decision-making bodies, according to Juneau.
But the rebels have retained a certain autonomy from their Iranian backer.

Camille Lons, a policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said the group
1. allows Tehran to “maintain pressure points,
2. and retain regional assets and networks in Yemen.”

Agence France-Presse May 9, 2025

Relatively unknown a decade ago, the Houthis have remained largely under the radar of Western intelligence services.

Their attacks, often with home-assembled drones and missiles, are simple but effective, dramatically reducing Red Sea shipping volumes as cargo companies have avoided the route.

It is difficult to assess the extent of their arsenal or how badly the latest U.S. campaign has affected their military capacities.

Jeremy Binnie of British private intelligence firm Janes said
“The assumption is that the know-how for the sophisticated weapons come from Iran,”
“Some local manufacturing is taking place to reduce the burden on the smuggling networks, although the extent that is happening isn’t particularly clear,” .

The Conflict Armament Research (CAR) group said the group was “attempting to use hydrogen fuel cells to power their” drones.
If the experiment is successful, they would be the first non-state actor to do so.

“This is no longer a small group manufacturing underdeveloped weapons,” Lons said, underlining the increased “complexity of what the Houthis are capable of producing by themselves.”

All Israel News May 6, 2025

Following reports of humanitarian aid looting in Gaza by heavily armed groups, Hamas has executed a number of looters it accused of being involved in the theft.

Hamas sources also told the Palestinian Safa news agency, which is associated with the terror organization, that the “thefts and chaos in the Gaza Strip are a dangerous plot orchestrated and coordinated by order of the Israeli occupation.”

The terror group claimed that several of the looters admitted to collaborating with Israel during interrogations saying they had received instructions from Israeli intelligence.

The Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Interior accused the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of killing a police officer and wounding several others who were chasing after looters.

“We will strike with an iron fist all these renegades, and we will take the necessary measures to deter them, no matter the cost, and we will not allow them to continue terrorizing citizens, threatening their lives, and stealing their property,” the ministry said in a statement released on Saturday.

All Israel News May 6, 2025

Meanwhile, Palestinian sources have reported that Hamas is imposing curfews to restrict the looting.

Safa also reported that Hamas has re-established a special police unit, called the “Executive Force” which was originally established in 2006 to seize weapons from clan groups and crime families.

The force was established while Hamas was part of the Palestinian Authority government, and was declared to be illegal following the Hamas coup in Gaza in 2007 in which Hamas forces killed many of their political enemies and seized control of the enclave.

According to the Hamas source who spoke to Safa, “The force will immediately start dealing with gangs of thugs and thieves, agents of the occupation, who recently tried to cause chaos by robbing some aid stores and attacking citizens' shops and properties.”

The source continued that “the force is authorized to take all necessary measures to establish security and order, including the use of excessive force in dealing in the field with uncontrolled gangs.”

All Israel News May 6, 2025

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority-affiliated Fatah has accused Hamas of carrying out the looting and then blaming it on “armed gangs” in order to have an excuse to crack down on the residents of Gaza and reimpose Hamas control of the Strip.

Former Gaza residents and online critics of Hamas have also corroborated accounts of the group violently enforcing its rule in the enclave.

Palestinian activist Amjad Abu Koush, who is a supporter of the Palestinian Authority, uploaded a video in Arabic accusing Hamas of carrying out the operations, saying that only Hamas has the weapons and means to carry out the large-scale raids, which included many men wear scarves over their faces, carrying Kalashnikovs (a type of automatic rifle) and driving large vehicles.

The looting came amidst several anti-Hamas demonstrations in the Gaza Strip, complaining of the lack of food and blaming Hamas for the situation.