Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis discussed “expanding confrontations and encircling” Israel in a meeting in Lebanon with Hamas and other Palestinian factions, a Houthi official has told AFP.

Representatives from Hamas, the Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine met last week with the Houthis in Beirut, the official said on condition of anonymity.

Palestinian sources on Friday told AFP that the meeting had taken place, with one of them saying the representatives discussed “mechanisms to coordinate their actions of resistance” for the “next stage” of the fighting in Gaza, now in its sixth month.

Another Palestinian source, also requesting anonymity to share details of the meeting, told AFP that those present discussed the “complementary role of Ansar Allah (the Houthis) alongside Palestinian factions, especially in the event of an Israeli offensive on Rafah.”