Natural gas pipeline explodes near southwestern Iranian city, with no reported casualties.
Iran's oil minister suggests the blast was the result of sabotage.
Gaza Fallout? U.S. Ally In Middle East To Kick Out 2500 American Troops Amid Attacks | Details
Rights groups say exploration licences handed to companies in first weeks of war encroach on Palestinian waters and may amount to the war crime of pillaging.
Major energy companies awarded licences by Israel to explore for gas off Gaza's coast have been warned that they could face legal action for possible breaches of Palestinian maritime sovereignty and war pillaging.
Israel's Ministry of Energy granted exploration rights to three companies - Italian energy giant Eni, UK-based Dana Energy and Israel's Ratio Petroleum - three weeks after the war on Gaza began in October.
Lawyers working on behalf of three Palestinian NGOs - Al Haq, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights and Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights - notified the companies in letters this month that they would use "all legal mechanisms to the fullest extent" if they proceeded and called on them to desist from any activities relating to the licences.
The organisations contend that over half of the zone for which the companies were awarded licences lies within Palestine's maritime boundaries.
Those boundaries were declared in 2015 when the Palestinians acceded to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the international agreement providing the legal framework for all marine and maritime activities.
The Houthis identified the vessel as the Rubymar and claimed it may be at risk of sinking.
The crew of a UK-registered cargo ship in the Red Sea were evacuated after it was damaged in an attack by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, say maritime authorities.
The Houthis identified the vessel as the Rubymar and claimed it may be at risk of sinking, though this could not be independently confirmed.
The ship targeted in the attack on Sunday reported sustaining damage after “an explosion in close proximity to the vessel”, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre (UKMTO) reported.
“Military authorities report crew have abandoned the vessel,” UKMTO said. “Vessel at anchor and all crew are safe.”
The Rubymar sustained damaged after two missiles were fired at the vessel from Yemen although the crew were able to evacuate, the vessel's maritime security company LSS-SAPU told Reuters on Monday.
"We know she was taking in water," LSS-SAPU said when asked about the vessel's condition.
"There is nobody on board now," LSS-SAPU added.
"The owners and mangers are considering options for towage."
In a second incident within hours, a Greece-flagged, US-owned bulk carrier with 23 crew members was attacked twice on Monday by missiles, with a window damaged but no injuries to personnel, Greek shipping ministry sources said.
The vessel was taking grain from Argentina to Aden.
Israel carried out at least two airstrikes in Ghaziyeh, a town just five kilometres outside of the Lebanese city of Saida, on Monday afternoon, in what were the largest airstrikes carried out near a major population centre since cross-border clashes started four months ago between Israel and Hezbollah.
# Palestinian Prime Minister Shtayyeh resigns, pushes ‘urgent need for inter-Palestinian consensus’
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said on Monday he was resigning to allow for the formation of a broad consensus among Palestinians about political arrangements following Israel’s war against the Islamist group Hamas in Gaza.
The move comes amid growing US pressure on President Mahmoud Abbas to shake up the Palestinian Authority as international efforts have intensified to stop the fighting in Gaza and begin work on a political structure to govern the enclave after the war.
His resignation must still be accepted by Abbas, who may ask him to stay on as caretaker until a permanent replacement is appointed.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh announces his government’s resignation and calls for “new political measures” during a cabinet meeting in Ramallah on Feb. 26, 2024.
In a statement to cabinet, Shtayyeh, an academic economist who took office in 2019, said the next stage would need to take account of the emerging reality in Gaza, which has been laid waste by nearly five months of heavy fighting.
He said the next stage would “require new governmental and political arrangements that take into account the emerging reality in the Gaza Strip, the national unity talks, and the urgent need for an inter-Palestinian consensus.”
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Palestinian & Israeli winners at Berlinale urge Germany to "stop sending weapons to Israel"
Egypt and Israel DON'T want you to know about this plan, it's TERRIFYING | Redacted News
Brighteon Broadcast News, Mar 13, 2023 – DISTURBING INTEL: Orbital EMP weapon confirmed, massive U.S. troop deployment to the Middle East means WAR
