A commercial ship traveling through the Gulf of Aden saw explosions near the vessel, authorities said Saturday, likely the latest attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels attempting to target the shipping lane.

The apparent fire by the Houthis comes after the sinking this week of the ship Tutor, which marked what appears to be a new escalation by the Iranian-backed Houthis in their campaign of attacks on ships in the vital maritime corridor over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

Qatar’s foreign minister has said that some progress has been made in negotiations over a Gaza cease-fire deal but gaps remain between Israel and Hamas.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, whose country is a mediator alongside the U.S. and Egypt, said “there has been progress to some extent in the situation.”

The flow of U.S. arms to Israel is necessary in order to “defeat Hamas” and “deter” Hezbollah, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said.

“Now this is crucial. It’s crucial for our common war aims to defeat Hamas and to prevent an escalation in Lebanon to a full-fledged war to have this supply,” Netanyahu told U.S. news portal Punchbowl News in an interview published Friday.

The U.S. military said Thursday that it had destroyed four Houthi nautical drones and two aerial ones over the Red Sea off Yemen.

The Iran-backed Houthis have launched scores of drones and missiles at commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November, describing the attacks as being in support of Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will visit the Middle East next week, Berlin said Friday, as the Gaza war grinds on and fears grow of a wider regional conflict.

Baerbock will travel to Israel Monday immediately after a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Luxembourg, a foreign ministry spokeswoman said.

The Israeli military said Sunday that it was establishing a new safe corridor to deliver aid into southern Gaza. But days later, this self-declared "tactical pause" has brought little relief to desperate Palestinians.

The United Nations and international aid organizations say a breakdown in law and order has made the aid route unusable.

Palestinian Civil Defense authorities said an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City hit a municipal garage, killing five people.

The strike on the garage in the center of Gaza City came Friday and killed four municipal workers and one passer-by, while leaving an unknown number of others buried under the rubble of the damaged building, the Civil Defense said.

Armenia announced Friday its recognition of the State of Palestine, the latest country to do so during the war in Gaza, saying it was against "violence towards civilian populations."

"Based on the above and confirming its commitment to international law, equality of nations, sovereignty and peaceful coexistence, the Republic of Armenia recognizes the State of Palestine," Yerevan said.

New tensions emerged this week between President Joe Biden's administration and Benjamin Netanyahu over the Israeli premier's criticism of U.S. weapons deliveries -- comments the White House described Thursday as "vexing" and "disappointing."

The issue began when Netanyahu claimed in a video posted on social media earlier this week that the U.S. administration -- Israel's main military backer -- has been "withholding weapons and ammunitions" from his country in recent months.

Fahd Ramadhan spent years building a life as a refugee in the Netherlands, only to have it unravel with his surprise arrest on a trip to his birthplace Saudi Arabia.