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Yemen: Alimi Warns Int’l Community of Laxity towards Houthis, UN Envoy Calls for United Efforts

The Houthis threaten military escalation and use their weapons of Iranian origin (Reuters)
The Houthis threaten military escalation and use their weapons of Iranian origin (Reuters)
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Yemen: Alimi Warns Int’l Community of Laxity towards Houthis, UN Envoy Calls for United Efforts

The Houthis threaten military escalation and use their weapons of Iranian origin (Reuters)
The Houthis threaten military escalation and use their weapons of Iranian origin (Reuters)

Head of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad al-Alimi, issued a stern warning on Thursday to the international community against any laxity towards the Houthi's “approach” and refusal of renewing a humanitarian truce in Yemen.

Alimi accused the Houthis of obstinacy and warned against "any laxity on the part of the international community towards Houthi militias”. He said it would encourage them to continue with their threats to international peace and security.

The Yemeni official’s remarks came during a meeting with US Ambassador to Yemen, Steven Fagin, in Riyadh. The talks between the two officials touched on bilateral relations, the developments in Yemen, and the mediation efforts led by Saudi Arabia and Oman to renew the truce.

Yemen’s Saba news agency reported that Alimi praised the distinguished bilateral relations between Yemen and the United States, highly appreciating the US humanitarian aid that aims to alleviate the Yemeni people's suffering, exacerbated by the Houthi militia attacks on oil facilities and international navigation lines.

Yemeni sources mentioned that Alimi reiterated the Council and government's openness to all initiatives aiming for a comprehensive and sustainable peace based on nationally, regionally, and internationally agreed references.

Alimi pointed out that Houthis reject all peace efforts to alleviate Yemeni suffering while they continue their military escalation, cross-border hostile operations, and threats to target navigation lines in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab, and the Gulf of Aden.

He also mentioned their "arbitrary measures" against Yemenia Airways and the significant human rights violations against thousands celebrating the anniversary of the September 26 revolution.

- US support

Ambassador Fagin affirmed Washington's support for the Presidential Leadership Council, the government, and their economic and institutional reforms in various fields.

He praised the positive engagement at the presidential and government levels with efforts aimed at alleviating humanitarian suffering and reviving the peace process in Yemen.

- Call for uniting efforts

The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, continues his regional tours to garner support for his initiatives to restore peace in Yemen, visiting Qatar and Oman.

Grundberg visited Muscat and met Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi and other officials to discuss developments and progress in the UN peace mediation efforts in Yemen.

The Office of the Special Envoy (OSESGY) expressed gratitude for Oman's support.

It stressed the importance of concerted regional and international actions to help the parties agree on measures to improve living conditions in Yemen, a sustainable nationwide ceasefire, and the resumption of an inclusive political process under UN auspices.

Earlier, Grundberg visited Qatar and met the Minister of State for International Cooperation, Lolwah Al Khater, and other Qatari officials to discuss further consolidating regional and international support to UN mediation efforts in Yemen.

According to the office, they discussed the progress to support the parties to agree on measures to improve living conditions in Yemen, commit and implement a nationwide ceasefire, and resume an inclusive political process under UN auspices.

"While the solution to the conflict must be negotiated by Yemenis, greater regional cohesion undoubtedly gives greater hope of resolving the situation in Yemen. The region will have a great role in accompanying Yemen on a path for peace, reconstruction, and recovery," Grundberg said.

He lauded the support of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, for a peaceful resolution to the conflict during his General Assembly speech.

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Arab World

Jordan Says 240 Missiles, Drones Fired at Kingdom Since Start of Middle East War

Streaks of fire and light cross the night sky as an Israeli interceptor strikes an Iranian missile amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, over Tel Aviv, Israel, March 18, 2026. (Reuters)
Streaks of fire and light cross the night sky as an Israeli interceptor strikes an Iranian missile amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, over Tel Aviv, Israel, March 18, 2026. (Reuters)
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Jordan Says 240 Missiles, Drones Fired at Kingdom Since Start of Middle East War

Streaks of fire and light cross the night sky as an Israeli interceptor strikes an Iranian missile amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, over Tel Aviv, Israel, March 18, 2026. (Reuters)
Streaks of fire and light cross the night sky as an Israeli interceptor strikes an Iranian missile amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, over Tel Aviv, Israel, March 18, 2026. (Reuters)

The Jordanian army said on Saturday that 240 missiles and drones had targeted the kingdom since the Middle East war began last month, most of which were intercepted.

"The total number of missiles and drones fired towards the kingdom since the start of the war has reached 240," the army said in a statement.

"The Royal Air Force successfully intercepted and destroyed 222 missiles and drones, while 18 missiles and drones were not intercepted by the air defenses," it added.

The military's media office, meanwhile, said 36 missiles and drones had targeted the kingdom over the past week.

"Fourteen missiles and 21 drones were intercepted and destroyed, while defenses were unable to thwart one attack," it added.

Since the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, the Islamic republic has struck countries across the region, including Jordan.

Iran has targeted US interests in the region, but attacks have also hit civilian infrastructure.

Jordan has recorded no deaths since the start of the war, with health authorities previously reporting 29 injured, all of whom have since been discharged from hospital.

Arab World

From Gaza to Lebanon, Doctor Races Against Time to Treat War-Wounded Children

British-Palestinian plastic and reconstructive surgeon Ghassan Abou-Sittah poses during a photo session in the Lebanese capital Beirut on March 19, 2026. (AFP)
British-Palestinian plastic and reconstructive surgeon Ghassan Abou-Sittah poses during a photo session in the Lebanese capital Beirut on March 19, 2026. (AFP)
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From Gaza to Lebanon, Doctor Races Against Time to Treat War-Wounded Children

British-Palestinian plastic and reconstructive surgeon Ghassan Abou-Sittah poses during a photo session in the Lebanese capital Beirut on March 19, 2026. (AFP)
British-Palestinian plastic and reconstructive surgeon Ghassan Abou-Sittah poses during a photo session in the Lebanese capital Beirut on March 19, 2026. (AFP)

During almost three weeks of war in Lebanon, British-Palestinian doctor Ghassan Abu-Sittah has had no respite, telling AFP he has been working "against the clock" to save children wounded in Israeli bombardment.

At the American University of Beirut Medical Center, one of the capital's main hospitals, his pediatric intensive care unit has been receiving critical cases from across the country and desperate parents praying for their children's survival.

This week, Israeli strikes hit densely populated central Beirut areas not far from the hospital, with three badly wounded children pulled from the rubble.

Among them was an 11-year-old girl who had "metal shrapnel in her abdomen, and partial amputation of the foot", said Abu-Sittah, a plastic surgeon specializing in conflict injuries.

"She's now in a stable condition," added the doctor, who lives near the hospital and rushes there for emergencies.

Israeli strikes have pummeled Lebanon since Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei in Israeli-US attacks.

Lebanese authorities say that 118 children have been killed and 370 others wounded.

Abu-Sittah said he had seen "partial limb amputations, brain injuries, shrapnel in the face, shrapnel in the eye, penetrating abdominal shrapnel, a lot of fractures, a lot of broken bones, a lot of soft tissue damage... and all of this in one child."

Such wounds mean "lots of surgeries", he added, dark rings under his eyes.

- War an 'endemic disease' -

He recalled three sisters who were brought to the hospital around a fortnight ago.

"Their injuries are so bad, I have to take them to the operating room every 48 hours... to get rid of more of the dead tissue and clean the wounds so that at some stage, they're ready for the reconstructive surgery," he said.

Born in Kuwait to a Palestinian refugee father from Gaza and a Lebanese mother, Abu-Sittah has dedicated his life to treating wounded civilians in the region.

War is the "endemic disease" of the Middle East, said Abu-Sittah.

But "you never get used to" children suffering, he said.

"A child should never become faceless, they never become numbers."

His first experience of conflict was as a medical student in 1991 after the withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait during the first Gulf War, and treating the wounded would soon become his mission.

He graduated in the United Kingdom and over the decades has worked repeatedly in Gaza and Lebanon, as well as in Iraq and Yemen.

After Palestinian group Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel sparked war in Gaza, Abu-Sittah spent more than a month in the Palestinian territory.

Lebanon this time is "a kind of small version of Gaza", Abu-Sittah said.

While the death toll in Lebanon is far lower, health facilities and workers in the country have paid a heavy price, with the health ministry saying 40 health workers have been killed and 119 wounded.

- Ongoing care -

Abu-Sittah said four hospitals in Beirut's southern suburbs had been forced to evacuate, "one of which has a big intensive care unit for children", amid persistent Israeli bombardment of the area.

He said some badly wounded children have died because they were not transferred in time from parts of the country where health facilities are less equipped than those in Beirut.

"The Israelis are targeting the ambulances, and so moving kids from one hospital in Nabatieh or in the Bekaa is very dangerous," he said, referring to a city in south Lebanon and to east Lebanon's Bekaa valley area.

"It can only happen during the day, and it takes a long time," he added.

The Israeli military has accused Hezbollah of using ambulances "for military purposes", an accusation Lebanon's health ministry has described as "a justification" for crimes "against humanity".

In 2024, the doctor created the Ghassan Abu-Sittah Children's Fund, which aims to provide medical care in Gaza and Lebanon and ongoing support to wounded children after they leave hospital.

Abu-Sittah said his youngest patient in Lebanon now was a four-year-old boy whose parents and three siblings were killed, and who will need major long-term physical and psychological support after suffering a head wound and an amputated foot.

"Who's going to look after them when they go home?" Abu-Sittah said.

Many wounded children "come from poor backgrounds who don't have the means to manage all of this", he added.

"It's not just the body that's destroyed, it's the family unit that's destroyed."

Arab World

UN Expert Says Israel Using ‘Systematic’ Torture

UN Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian Territories occupied since 1967, Francesca Albanese gestures as she speaks during a public event hosted by the Olof Palme International Center in Belgrade on March 17, 2026. (AFP)
UN Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian Territories occupied since 1967, Francesca Albanese gestures as she speaks during a public event hosted by the Olof Palme International Center in Belgrade on March 17, 2026. (AFP)
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UN Expert Says Israel Using ‘Systematic’ Torture

UN Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian Territories occupied since 1967, Francesca Albanese gestures as she speaks during a public event hosted by the Olof Palme International Center in Belgrade on March 17, 2026. (AFP)
UN Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian Territories occupied since 1967, Francesca Albanese gestures as she speaks during a public event hosted by the Olof Palme International Center in Belgrade on March 17, 2026. (AFP)

A UN expert claimed Israel was systematically torturing Palestinians on a scale "that suggests collective vengeance and destructive intent", in a report released to media on Friday.

Francesca Albanese, the UN's special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, said that since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, which triggered the Gaza war, Palestinians in custody "have been subjected to exceptionally ruthless physical and psychological abuse".

AFP has sought a comment from Israel's mission in Geneva, which has previously accused Albanese of being motivated by an "obsessive, hate-driven agenda to delegitimize the state of Israel".

Albanese has faced harsh criticism, allegations of anti-Semitism and demands for her removal, from Israel and some of its allies, over her relentless criticism and long-standing accusations of "genocide".

Last month, France and Germany called for her to resign following her remarks to a forum in Doha. Albanese said they had done so based on "false accusations" and a "manipulation" of what she had actually said.

Though appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, special rapporteurs are independent experts and do not speak on behalf of the United Nations itself.

- 'Unprecedented scale' -

A statement accompanying her new report said that while Albanese "unequivocally condemns torture and other forms of ill-treatment committed by all actors, including Palestinian armed groups", this report "focuses on Israeli conduct".

Entitled "Torture and genocide", the report "examines Israel's systematic use of torture against Palestinians from the occupied Palestinian territory since October 7, 2023".

It claimed that "torture in detention has been used on an unprecedented scale as punitive collective vengeance".

"Brutal beatings, sexual violence, rape, lethal mistreatment, starvation, and the systematic deprivation of the most basic human conditions have inflicted profound and lasting scars on the bodies and minds of tens of thousands of Palestinians and their loved ones," the report said.

"Torture has become integral to the domination of and punishment inflicted on men, women and children, both through custodial abuse and through a relentless campaign of forced displacement, mass killings, deprivation and destruction of all means of life to inflict long-term collective pain and suffering," it said.

Israel is party to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Albanese said she had gathered written submissions, including over 300 testimonies.

- 'Widespread humiliation' -

Albanese said that since October 2023, arrests of Palestinians in the occupied territories had "escalated dramatically", with more than 18,500 people arrested, including at least 1,500 children.

The report said around 9,000 Palestinians were still in detention, while "more than 4,000 have been subjected to enforced disappearance".

Albanese said Israel's detention system "has descended into a regime of systemic and widespread humiliation, coercion, and terror".

She said Israel should "immediately cease all acts of torture and ill-treatment of the Palestinian people as part of its ongoing genocide" and urged all countries "to do everything in their power to stop the destruction of what remains of Palestine" as every delay "worsens irreversible harm and further entrenches a system of cruelty".

Albanese urged the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to request arrest warrants for Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

She is due to present her report to the UN Human Rights Council on Monday.