The fall of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad earlier in December has set millions of Yemenis thinking about what lies in store for their own country. Some say the fall of the Iran-allied Houthis in Yemen – who control Sanaa and much of northern and western Yemen – may be the “next surprise” in the region.

The World Health Organization’s director-general said airstrikes on Yemen’s main airport occurred as he was about to board a flight in the Houthi rebel-held capital of Sanaa

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said a member of the plane’s crew was injured and that he and U.N. colleagues were safe. Israel said it targeted Houthi militant infrastructure.

Yemenis have openly declared their support for Palestine’s struggle against the Israeli occupation since the regime launched its devastating war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, which has so far claimed the lives of at least 45,361 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

Houthi rebels in Yemen say Israeli airstrikes targeted the rebel-held capital of Sanaa and the port city of Hodeida.

Rebel forces in Syria are building a transitional government after toppling the regime of President Bashar Assad in a lightning-quick advance across the country.

Even with hopes running high, so much can go wrong when a country ousts a longtime dictator and tries to start anew.

She spent 49 days in captivity and was freed in late November 2023. Shortly after Katzir was freed, her daughter told Israeli media that she had been hospitalized with heart issues attributed to “difficult conditions and starvation” while she was held captive.

“CENTCOM forces conducted the deliberate strikes to disrupt and degrade Houthi operations, such as attacks against U.S. Navy warships and merchant vessels in the Southern Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb, and Gulf of Aden,” CENTCOM said.

Israel is celebrating the fall of Assad because it breaks the noose that Iran had been patiently tightening around Israel’s borders in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria. Tehran’s pincer is now broken and rendered useless. From the point of view of Israel’s wider conflict with the Islamic Republic, the collapse of Assad’s regime is a strategic victory.