Int'l Reports: One Yemeni Child Dies Every 10 Minutes from Hunger

Children displaced by conflict receive food aid from a Kuwaiti charity at a displaced camp in Maarib, Yemen (AFP)
Children displaced by conflict receive food aid from a Kuwaiti charity at a displaced camp in Maarib, Yemen (AFP)
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Int'l Reports: One Yemeni Child Dies Every 10 Minutes from Hunger

Children displaced by conflict receive food aid from a Kuwaiti charity at a displaced camp in Maarib, Yemen (AFP)
Children displaced by conflict receive food aid from a Kuwaiti charity at a displaced camp in Maarib, Yemen (AFP)

Rashad Mohammed Al-Alimi, President of the Presidential Leadership Council, stressed on Saturday the need to make optimal use of UN assistance to improve the living conditions of local communities in Yemen.

Al-Alimi’s statement came while two reports revealed that one child dies every 10 minutes from hunger in Yemen, while 89% of internally displaced in Yemen are unable to meet their daily food need and more than 20 million people require humanitarian assistance.

The Islamic Relief said that after nine years of conflict, malnutrition rates in Yemen are some of the highest ever recorded with more than 20.7 million people in need of humanitarian aid to survive and with a child dying every 10 minutes from hunger.

The organization said families in Yemen are facing ongoing armed conflict, displacement, disease and economic decline. It also noted malnutrition is spiraling in Yemen as people begin to feel the impact of recent cuts to humanitarian aid, leaving many families unable to afford essential food.

Islamic Relief said 17.6 million people in Yemen are facing food insecurity.

The organization, which operates from the British city of Birmingham said nearly 80% of the population live below the poverty line in the country while the price of essential food in the market is rising rapidly.

“Our teams have observed a surge in malnourished children over the past few months through our work in 159 nutrition centers across the country and the price of essential food in the market is rising rapidly, leaving many families unable to afford it,” the organization said.

It added that after 9 years of war, malnutrition rates in Yemen are some of the highest ever recorded and are expected to worsen. “Around 2.7 million women and 5 million children under 5 years old are estimated to require treatment for acute malnutrition in 2024,” it revealed.

Islamic Relief then urgently appealed to the international community to ensure the humanitarian response in Yemen is appropriately funded.

It said aid has been vital in preventing Yemen falling into famine in recent years, and it saved countless lives. But it added that if the international community continues to overlook the humanitarian situation in Yemen “then we will see conditions badly deteriorate again.”

UN and Yemeni Cooperation

Meanwhile, Al-Alimi made his statement during a meeting at Al-Maashiq presidential Palace with Abdallah Al Dardari, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Arab States, and Julien Harneis, the UN Resident Coordinator in Yemen, said the government-run news agency, SABA.

Al-Alimi welcomed UN’s active efforts aimed at alleviating the Yemeni people’s suffering caused by the ongoing war in the country.

The Chairman stressed the importance of building upon the efforts of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the Secretariat General of the Gulf Cooperation Council to address economic, developmental, and humanitarian challenges.

For his part, the UN Assistant Secretary General said the United Nations plans to deploy international expertise to help in developing a framework for the national economic recovery plan in Yemen.

A recent UN report revealed that approximately 89% of internally displaced people in Yemen are unable to meet their daily food needs, due to the worsening vulnerabilities and the erosion of the ability to withstand and adapt after nine years of conflict.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said in the report that the assessments it conducted during 2023 indicate high levels of social and economic vulnerabilities among displaced families, as only 11% of internally displaced people can meet their daily food needs, while 89% cannot.

In 2023, UNHCR conducted 136,913 household assessments, covering 820,440 individuals.

The results of these assessments indicate that 70% purchase less preferred or cheaper, lower quality food, 52.7% reduce portion sizes while 48.2% reduce the number of meals per day.

The results also indicate high levels of socio-economic vulnerabilities among IDP households and that opportunities to earn an income are limited and largely consist of informal and hazardous jobs.

The results further showed that 48.6% of the population report no source of income and 41.5% report monthly incomes of less than $50.

As a result, IDP households continuously struggle to meet their basic needs and many turn to harmful coping mechanisms to get by.

UNHCR assessments showed that 69.6% rely on debt to meet their basic needs, 46.4% reduce expenditure on essential non-food items, 41.1% reduce expenditure on healthcare and medicine, 10.8% sell productive assets, and 11.9% of children drop out of school.

The UN agency said Yemen remains among the most critical humanitarian crises globally.

For the majority of IDPs, humanitarian assistance, including in-kind food assistance and cash transfers, remain a critical source of life-saving support, it added.



Lebanon Security Source Says Hezbollah Official Targeted in Beirut Strike

Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
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Lebanon Security Source Says Hezbollah Official Targeted in Beirut Strike

Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

A Lebanese security source said the target of a deadly Israeli airstrike on central Beirut early Saturday was a senior Hezbollah official, adding it was unclear whether he was killed.

"The Israeli strike on Basta targeted a leading Hezbollah figure," the security official told AFP without naming the figure, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

The early morning airstrike has killed at least 11 people and injured 63, according to authorities, and had brought down an eight-storey building nearby, in the second such attack on the working-class neighbourhood of Basta in as many months.

"The strike was so strong it felt like the building was about to fall on our heads," said Samir, 60, who lives with his family in a building facing the one that was hit.

"It felt like they had targeted my house," he said, asking to be identified by only his first name because of security concerns.

There had been no evacuation warning issued by the Israeli military for the Basta area.

After the strike, Samir fled his home in the middle of the night with his wife and two children, aged 14 and just three.

On Saturday morning, dumbstruck residents watched as an excavator cleared the wreckage of the razed building and rescue efforts continued, with nearby buildings also damaged in the attack, AFP journalists reported.

The densely packed district has welcomed people displaced from traditional Hezbollah bastions in Lebanon's east, south and southern Beirut, after Israel intensified its air campaign on September 23, later sending in ground troops.

"We saw two dead people on the ground... The children started crying and their mother cried even more," Samir told AFP, reporting minor damage to his home.

Since last Sunday, four deadly Israeli strikes have hit central Beirut, including one that killed Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif.

Residents across the city and its outskirts awoke at 0400 (0200 GMT) on Saturday to loud explosions and the smell of gunpowder in the air.

"It was the first time I've woken up screaming in terror," said Salah, a 35-year-old father of two who lives in the same street as the building that was targeted.

"Words can't express the fear that gripped me," he said.

Saturday's strikes were the second time the Basta district had been targeted since war broke out, after deadly twin strikes early in October hit the area and the Nweiri neighbourhood.

Last month's attacks killed 22 people and had targeted Hezbollah security chief Wafiq Safa, who made it out alive, a source close to the group told AFP.

Salah said his wife and children had been in the northern city of Tripoli, about 70 kilometres away (45 miles), but that he had to stay in the capital because of work.

His family had been due to return this weekend because their school reopens on Monday, but now he has decided against it following the attack.

"I miss them. Every day they ask me: 'Dad, when are we coming home?'" he said.

Lebanon's health ministry says that more than 3,650 people have been killed since October 2023, after Hezbollah initiated exchanges of fire with Israel in solidarity with its Iran-backed ally Hamas over the Gaza war.

However, most of the deaths in Lebanon have been since September this year.

Despite the trauma caused by Saturday's strike, Samir said he and his family had no choice but to return home.

"Where else would I go?" he asked.

"All my relatives and siblings have been displaced from Beirut's southern suburbs and from the south."