Yemen PM to Asharq Al-Awsat: Challenges Are Great, We Will Confront Them

Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik. (EPA file photo)
Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik. (EPA file photo)
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Yemen PM to Asharq Al-Awsat: Challenges Are Great, We Will Confront Them

Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik. (EPA file photo)
Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik. (EPA file photo)

Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik stressed that the new power-sharing government that was announced on Friday will work according to a comprehensive policy to serve the interests of the people.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat shortly after the cabinet was unveiled, he added that the government would also work on uniting national ranks to restore the state and end the Iranian expansionist agenda and its Houthi proxy.

“The cabinet has a clear plan and agenda on how to deal with the current challenges,” he stressed, adding that he was looking forward to the “support of brothers and friends and political, societal and popular forces in Yemen.”

Moreover, he said that the formation of the government was the culmination of efforts exerted by President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi, the Saudi leadership and Saudi-led Arab coalition members.

Abdulmalik hailed in this regard Saudi Arabia for its role in bridging gaps between various Yemeni parties and implementing the Riyadh Agreement.

He also praised the cooperation of all parties that have prioritized national interests above their own and set their sights on the battle for Yemen and its Arab identity against the Iranian and Houthi agenda.

Iran and the Houthis are not only a threat to Yemen, but the entire region and world, warned the premier.

The government will work according to a “different and comprehensive methodology in order to normalize the situation in liberated provinces and unite military ranks to help speed up efforts to restore the state and end the Houthi coup,” he continued.

“We have a clear plan and agenda on how to deal with current challenges,” he stated.

“We are aware that the challenges are great, but we will bravely confront them,” Abdulmalik remarked. “We have prioritized the Yemeni people throughout the country, which has suffered enough. Now is the time for official and popular unity to improve living conditions.”



UN Says ‘Deliberate’ Choices ‘Systematically’ Depriving Gazans

04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
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UN Says ‘Deliberate’ Choices ‘Systematically’ Depriving Gazans

04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)

The UN aid chief said Wednesday that recent "horrifying scenes" of Gazans being killed while seeking food aid were the result of "deliberate choices that have systematically deprived" them of essentials to survive.

A US and Israeli-backed group operating aid sites in the Gaza Strip announced the temporary closure of its facilities on Wednesday, with the Israeli army warning that roads leading to distribution centers were "considered combat zones".

The announcement by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation follows a string of deadly incidents near the distribution sites it operates.

On Tuesday, 27 people were killed in southern Gaza when Israeli troops opened fire near a GHF aid site, with the military saying the incident was under investigation.

"The world is watching, day after day, horrifying scenes of Palestinians being shot, wounded or killed in Gaza while simply trying to eat," UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said in a statement.

"Emergency medical teams have confirmed treating hundreds of trauma cases. Yesterday alone, dozens were declared dead at hospitals after Israeli forces said they had opened fire.

"This is the outcome of a series of deliberate choices that have systematically deprived two million people of the essentials they need to survive."

He echoed the call by UN chief Antonio Guterres for immediate independent investigations, saying they were not isolated incidents, and the perpetrators must be held accountable.

"No-one should have to risk their life to feed their children," said Fletcher.

The GHF began operations a week ago, but the UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with it over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.

Meanwhile the United Nations has described the amount of aid allowed into Gaza, after Israel partially lifted a more than two-month total blockade, as a trickle.

"We must be allowed to do our jobs: we have the teams, the plan, the supplies and the experience," said Fletcher, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.

"Open the crossings -- all of them. Let in life-saving aid at scale, from all directions. Lift the restrictions on what and how much aid we can bring in.

"Ensure our convoys aren't held up by delays and denials. Release the hostages. Implement the ceasefire."