Yemen’s Huthi rebels shot down an American MQ-9 Reaper drone, a senior US defense official said Wednesday, confirming an earlier claim by the Iran-backed group.

The Huthis — who have downed an American drone before — said the MQ-9 was spying as part of US support for Israel in its war against Hamas.

“A US military MQ-9 remotely-piloted aircraft was shot down off the coast of Yemen by Huthi forces,” the official said.

The Huthis — who seized Yemen’s capital Sanaa in 2014 and control large swathes of the country — claimed the shootdown earlier in the day.

“Our air defences were able to down an American MQ-9 while it was carrying out hostile surveillance and espionage activities in Yemeni territorial waters as part of American military support” for Israel, the Huthis said in a statement.

The United States rushed military support to Israel and bolstered American forces in the region after Hamas militants carried out a shock cross-border attack from Gaza on October 7 that Israeli officials say killed more than 1,400 people.

Israel’s military responded with a relentless air, land and naval assault on Gaza that the territory’s health ministry says has left more than 10,500 people dead, sparking widespread anger in the region.

The Huthis have targeted Israel on multiple occasions in recent weeks, and the US Navy intercepted several missiles fired by the Huthis last month.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again rejected the prospect of a ceasefire in Gaza on Wednesday, amid reports of negotiations for a temporary truce with Hamas.

A source close to Hamas earlier said talks were underway for the release of a dozen hostages held by the Islamists, including six Americans, in return for a three-day ceasefire in Gaza.

“I’d like to put to rest all kinds of false rumours we’re hearing from all kinds of directions, and reiterate one clear thing: there will be no ceasefire without the release of our hostages,” Netanyahu said.

The source close to Hamas had said the pause in fighting was being brokered “to enable Egypt an extended (period of time) to deliver humanitarian aid” and let Hamas release the 12 hostages.

“There’s disagreement around the time period and around the north (of the Gaza Strip), which is witnessing extensive combat operations,” the source said.

Earlier Wednesday, a separate source briefed on the talks said Qatar was mediating negotiations in coordination with the US to free “10-15 hostages in exchange for a one- to two-day ceasefire”.

Fighting has raged in Gaza for over a month following Hamas’ shock October 7 attack that killed more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and took 239 hostages, according to Israeli authorities.

In Gaza, 10,569 people, also mostly civilians, have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory military campaign to destroy Hamas, the health ministry in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory has said.

Qatar has been engaged in intense diplomacy to secure the release of those held by Hamas, negotiating the handover of four hostages — two Israelis and two Americans — in recent weeks.

– Families welcome every release –

Following reports on the latest negotiations, the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum said it welcomed “the return of each and every hostage”.

However, “any move toward a ceasefire should include the release of all hostages from Gaza”, the group said in a statement.

Qatar, which hosts the largest US military base in the Middle East, is also home to the political office of Hamas and is the main residence of its self-exiled leader Ismail Haniyeh.

The wealthy Gulf emirate has been a fierce supporter of the Palestinian cause and has open channels of communication with Hamas, the Islamist rulers of Gaza.

Amid repeated calls for a ceasefire, Qatar has lamented the escalating violence visited on Gaza and its 2.4 million inhabitants, saying Israeli bombing undermines mediation efforts and de-escalation.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said the Gulf state was “determined to continue its mediation”, despite difficulties “caused by the actions of the Israeli occupation”.

The G7 grouping of economically advanced nations called on Wednesday for “humanitarian pauses and corridors” in the conflict, but refrained from calling for a ceasefire, during talks in Japan.

A sessions court here has convicted and imposed the death penalty on a man for killing an old woman and a two-year-old girl in 2017 by setting them on fire, noting the case falls under the “rarest of rare” category.

Sessions Judge A Subramaniam, in a judgment delivered on November 7, noted the crime committed by the accused, Deepak Jath, undoubtedly falls under the category of “the rarest of rare” cases warranting the death penalty.

The prosecution case is that in April 2017, Jath poured some liquid on four persons — two women, a 17-year-old girl and a two-year-old girl — and set them on fire in suburban Bandra, leading to their death. One of the women and the two-year-old girl died due to burn injuries.

The case is that Jath had earlier harassed the 17-year-old girl and was irked when he was admonished for the same. The court refused to accept Jath’s claim he was not mentally sound.

“I believe that the manner of causing death and pouring inflammable material on the victims, and clod bloodedly lighting them up which included an old helpless lady and a small child of couple of years shows the dastardly act and classifies it as such,” the court said.

“Society abhors such crimes which shock the conscience of the society and always attracts intense and extreme indignation of the community,” it noted.

Jath had, in his defence, claimed he was irked with one of the victims who had used certain derogatory words against him.

The court, however, said, “Can that be said to be provocation or adequate provocation for committing such a ghastly act. I feel the answer lies in the question itself.”