  JERUSALEM/ ZURICH/ TEL AVIV, 19 JAN

The US fighter jets struck Houthi rebel sites in Yemen for the sixth time Friday, taking out anti-ship missile launchers that were prepared to fire.

The Iranian-backed Houthi militants say their attacks on global shipping in the Red Sea corridor are aimed at stopping Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Now in its fourth month, the war has raised the temperature on tensions across the Middle East.

In Israel, a member of the country's War Cabinet said only a ceasefire deal can win the release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. The televised comments by former army chief Gadi Eisenkot on Thursday were the latest sign of a growing rift among political and military leaders over the direction of Israel's war.

The official said the strikes were carried out by F/A-18 aircraft off the USS Dwight D Eisenhower aircraft carrier. Al-Masirah, a Houthi-run satellite news channel, said Friday that there were air raids in the western port city of Hodieda on Friday, targeting the al-Jabaana neighbourhood in the west of the city. The location of the US strikes could not be immediately confirmed.

Biden and Netanyahu’s hold talks
Biden spoke Friday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the leaders' first call in almost a month amid sharp disagreements over what should happen in Gaza after the ongoing war concludes.

The White House said they discussed "the latest developments in Israel and Gaza." It comes a day after Netanyahu reiterated his opposition to a Palestinian state, which the US has insisted is necessary to bring about a sustainable peace.

Scuffles on Tel Aviv highway as hostages' families protest
Israeli police scuffled with relatives of hostages held by Hamas after the group of family members blocked a major Tel Aviv highway, a sign of growing tensions over the government's lack of visible progress in reaching a new deal to secure the hostages' release.. Footage showed demonstrators holding up signs reading "Deal Now" as they faced long lines of cars.

Eventually, police showed up and scuffled with some of the demonstrators, pushing them as they tried to clear the road. Rifle-toting police chased after protesters before detaining them.