ADEN -- Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) announced Saturday the formation of a Supreme Military Committee under the command of the Saudi Arabia-led coalition, signaling a new phase of military preparedness amid stalled peace efforts with the Houthi group.
In a televised address aired by state news agency Saba, the PLC's chairman Rashad Al-Alimi said the newly formed military committee would be tasked with preparing, equipping, leading and supporting all pro-government military forces, should the Houthis continue to reject peaceful political solutions. (Yemen-Military Committee)
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TEHRAN -- The Iranian military pledged on Saturday to defend national interests, protect strategic infrastructure and public property amid ongoing protests, and urged Iranians to unite to "thwart the enemy's plots," according to state broadcaster IRIB.
In a statement, the military accused Israel and "hostile terrorist organizations" of "attempting to undermine order and peace in cities and disrupt public security through another conspiracy," and of "trying to incite another rebellion in the name of supporting the Iranian people." It called on the public to remain vigilant and unite to "defeat the enemy's plots," saying Iran is "in the middle of a war." (Iran-Protest-Military)
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GAZA -- Three Palestinians were killed in separate Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement.
According to the statement, one Palestinian was killed and another wounded when an Israeli drone struck a group of young men near the Bani Suheila area in central Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Two others were killed by gunfire from Israeli military vehicles east of the Zeitoun neighborhood in southeastern Gaza City. (Gaza Strip-Israeli Attacks-Casualty)
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RAMALLAH -- The Revolutionary Council of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah) announced on Saturday the decision to hold the movement's eighth general conference on May 14, its first such gathering since 2016.
The council described the conference as both an organizational requirement and a political necessity in a statement published by the Palestinian News Agency WAFA. (Palestine-Fatah-General Conference)
