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Yemen's Presidential Council Warns Houthis over Military Escalation

Rashad Al-Alimi chairs a meeting of the Yemeni Presidential Council (Saba)
Rashad Al-Alimi chairs a meeting of the Yemeni Presidential Council (Saba)
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Yemen's Presidential Council Warns Houthis over Military Escalation

Rashad Al-Alimi chairs a meeting of the Yemeni Presidential Council (Saba)
Rashad Al-Alimi chairs a meeting of the Yemeni Presidential Council (Saba)

Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council warned the Houthi militia against ongoing military escalation and stressed the need to secure enough fuel supplies to operate the power grid, according to the official media.

State-owned news agency Saba reported that Rashad al-Alimi chaired a meeting of the Presidential Council and discussed the recent developments and political efforts to achieve peace and stability.

The official media said that the Council welcomed the launch of the flights from al-Ghaydah Airport, expressing gratitude to Saudi Arabia for rehabilitating the facility and emphasizing its positive impact on investment and travel.

The meeting stressed that the resumption of flights to the airport would stimulate investment activities and alleviate travelers' suffering.

The meeting addressed the economic and financial challenges facing the interim capital, Aden, and the liberated governorates.

The Presidential Council stressed the importance of ensuring the provision of sufficient fuel to operate the electric grid and boosting the role of oversight agencies in addressing the imbalances that affect this vital sector.

They reiterated the Council and government's commitment to enhancing monetary and financial stability and improving the state's access to public resources through comprehensive reforms.

The Council also addressed recent regional and international developments concerning the renewal of the ceasefire.

Official sources said that the Council stressed the importance of restoring state institutions, security, stability, and development and ending the Houthi coup.

According to the sources, the Presidential Council warned the Houthi militia against continuing its military actions and gross human rights violations.

It lauded and appreciated the army and the popular resistance in deterring any escalation aimed at obstructing efforts to achieve peace.

The Council called on the international community to address the intransigence of the Houthi militia, praising people's aspirations to build a modern state that ensures the participation of all Yemenis.

It affirmed its commitment to alleviating human suffering and fulfilling its obligations towards the Yemeni people, paving the way towards achieving internal stability and peace.

- Operation of al Ghaydah Airport

Alimi congratulated the residents of al-Mahra Governorate on the inauguration of flights through al-Ghaydah International Airport as the fourth airport in the liberated governorates after years of suffering and the hardship of travel.

The head of the Council praised the Saudi efforts that led to this achievement.

On Thursday, the first Yemen Airways planes arrived at the airport, which became operational after rehabilitation by the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen (SDRPY).

The airport rehabilitation project included developing and upgrading the efficiency of the units, halls, and buildings inside the airport, providing it with the navigational system (RNAV), and a communication system for the air control tower in compliance with the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization.

The inauguration took place with the participation of the Minister of Transport, Abd al-Salam Hamid, and several officials.

Hamid stressed the importance of operating domestic flights at al-Ghaydah airport, saying the future step will be to operate international flights, which would facilitate citizens' travel and stimulate the commercial and tourism movement.

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Palestinian Envoy Tells UN Court that Israel is Killing Civilians and Targeting Aid Workers in Gaza

A Palestinian flag flies outside the International Court of Justice, rear, which opened hearings into a United Nations request for an advisory opinion on Israel's obligations to allow humanitarian assistance in Gaza and the West Bank, in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
A Palestinian flag flies outside the International Court of Justice, rear, which opened hearings into a United Nations request for an advisory opinion on Israel's obligations to allow humanitarian assistance in Gaza and the West Bank, in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
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Palestinian Envoy Tells UN Court that Israel is Killing Civilians and Targeting Aid Workers in Gaza

A Palestinian flag flies outside the International Court of Justice, rear, which opened hearings into a United Nations request for an advisory opinion on Israel's obligations to allow humanitarian assistance in Gaza and the West Bank, in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
A Palestinian flag flies outside the International Court of Justice, rear, which opened hearings into a United Nations request for an advisory opinion on Israel's obligations to allow humanitarian assistance in Gaza and the West Bank, in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

A Palestinian diplomat has told the United Nations’ top court that Israel is killing and displacing civilians and targeting aid workers in Gaza in a “man-made catastrophe of unprecedented proportions.”

Ambassador Ammar Hijazi was speaking Monday at the opening of a week of hearings at the International Court of Justice into Israel’s legal obligations to facilitate aid in the occupied territories, The Associated Press said.

Israel denies deliberately targeting civilians and aid staff.

The United Nations’ highest court opened hearings Monday into Israel’s obligation to “ensure and facilitate” urgently needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians in the occupied territories, bringing the ongoing conflict in Gaza back into focus in The Hague.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called the hearings part of a “systematic persecution and delegitimization” of his country. Speaking in Jerusalem as the hearings began in The Hague, Saar said the court was “becoming completely politicized.” He called the proceeding “shameful.”

A week of hearings has been scheduled in response to a request last year from the UN General Assembly, which asked the International Court of Justice to weigh in on Israel’s legal responsibilities after the country blocked the UN agency for Palestinian refugees from operating on its territory.

In a resolution sponsored by Norway, the General Assembly requested an advisory opinion, a non-binding but legally important decision from the court, on Israel's obligations in the occupied territories to "ensure and facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed supplies essential to the survival of the Palestinian civilian population?”

Hearings open as the humanitarian aid system in Gaza is nearing collapse. Israel has blocked the entry of food, fuel, medicine and other humanitarian supplies since March 2. It renewed its bombardment on March 18, breaking a ceasefire, and seized large parts of the territory, saying it aims to push Hamas to release more hostages. Despite the stepped-up Israeli pressure, ceasefire efforts remain deadlocked.

The World Food Program said last week its food stocks in the Gaza Strip have run out under Israel’s nearly 8-week-old blockade, ending a main source of sustenance for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the territory. Many families are struggling to feed their children.

The United Nations was the first to address the court on Monday, followed by Palestinian representatives. In total, 40 states and four international organizations are scheduled to participate. Israel is not scheduled to speak during the hearings, but could submit a written statement. Israel's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The United States, which voted against the UN resolution, is scheduled to speak on Wednesday.

The court will likely take months to rule. But experts say the decision, though not legally binding, could profoundly impact international jurisprudence, international aid to Israel and public opinion.

“Advisory opinions provide clarity,” Juliette McIntyre, an expert on international law at the University of South Australia, told The Associated Press. Governments rely on them in international negotiations and the outcome could be used to pressure Israel into easing restrictions on aid.

Whether any ruling will have an effect on Israel, however, is unclear. Israel has long accused the United Nations of being unfairly biased against it and has ignored a 2004 advisory ruling by the ICJ that found its West Bank separation barrier illegal.

On Tuesday, South Africa, a staunch critic of Israel, will present its arguments. In hearings last year in a separate case at the court, the country accused Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza — a charge Israel denies. Those proceedings are still underway.

Israel's troubled relations with UNRWA

Israel’s ban on the agency, known as UNRWA, came into effect in January. The organization has faced increased criticism from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right allies, who claim the group is deeply infiltrated by Hamas. UNRWA rejects that claim.

Israel alleged that 19 out of UNRWA’s approximately 13,000 staff in Gaza took part in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack in southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and set off the war in Gaza. UNRWA said it fired nine staffers after an internal UN investigation concluded that they could have been involved, although the evidence was not authenticated and corroborated. Israel later alleged that about 100 other Palestinians in Gaza were Hamas members, but never provided any evidence to the United Nations. Israel has also accused Hamas of using UN facilities for cover, building tunnels near UN buildings and diverting aid deliveries for its own use.

The Israeli ban doesn't apply directly to Gaza. But it controls all entry to the territory, and its ban on UNRWA from operating inside Israel greatly limits the agency's ability to function. Israeli officials say they are looking for alternative ways to deliver aid to Gaza that would cut out the United Nations.

UNRWA was established by the UN General Assembly in 1949 to provide relief for Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes in what is now Israel during the war surrounding Israel's creation the previous year until there is a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The agency has been providing aid and services — including health and education — to some 2.5 million Palestinians in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, as well as 3 million more in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon.

Israel’s air and ground war has killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.