France’s Macron Urges Restraint in Lebanon after Wave of Explosionshttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5062694-france%E2%80%99s-macron-urges-restraint-lebanon-after-wave-explosions
France’s Macron Urges Restraint in Lebanon after Wave of Explosions
French President Emmanuel Macron attends a ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the port city of Le Havre, France, 12 September 2024. (EPA)
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France’s Macron Urges Restraint in Lebanon after Wave of Explosions
French President Emmanuel Macron attends a ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the port city of Le Havre, France, 12 September 2024. (EPA)
French President Emmanuel Macron held phone calls with top political and military leaders from Lebanon, his office said on Thursday, urging restraint after a wave of explosions of pagers and radio devices.
Macron asked Lebanese leaders to pass on messages to local groups including Hezbollah to avoid further escalation, the Elysee said, amid fears of a wider war.
Thousands of explosions in booby-trapped radios and pagers hit the Iran-backed group on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The attacks on Hezbollah's communications equipment killed 37 people and wounded around 3,000, raising fears that a full-blown war was imminent.
Israel has neither confirmed nor denied being behind the attacks, but multiple security sources have said they were carried out by its spy agency Mossad.
Spain's foreign ministry condemned the attacks as a violation of international humanitarian law that threatened the region's stability.
"We call for restraint on the part of all actors," the ministry said in a statement. "It's necessary to avoid a further escalation of violence and the risk of open war with unforeseeable consequences."
Spain's condemnation came hours after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Madrid.
WHO: Houthi Attacks Leave More than 4,000 Victims in Yemenhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5323741-who-houthi-attacks-leave-more-4000-victims-yemen
A displaced Yemeni walks at Al-Firdaws camp in Ras Imran, on the western outskirts of Aden, Yemen, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdulnasser Alseddik)
WHO: Houthi Attacks Leave More than 4,000 Victims in Yemen
A displaced Yemeni walks at Al-Firdaws camp in Ras Imran, on the western outskirts of Aden, Yemen, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdulnasser Alseddik)
The health and humanitarian situations in Yemen continue to deteriorate as fighting intensifies, with 809 new casualties recorded during the reporting period between September 19 and 26, including 164 deaths, the World Health Organization said on Monday.
The new figures brought the cumulative total since Aug. 6 to 4,481 casualties, including 838 deaths.
In its fifth Situation Report on the Conflict Escalation in Yemen, WHO said deaths represented 20% of newly reported casualties during the reporting period, compared with 24% in the previous period and 17% before that, while casualties continue to rise at roughly 100 per day.
It said Lahj remains the heaviest front where Al-Madharibah wa Ras Al-Arah and the Bab Al-Mandab coast accounted for the largest daily burden on both days for which detailed field reports were available, it said.
The area recorded 47 casualties on Sept. 21, including 18 deaths, and 34 casualties on Sept. 26.
The next highest casualty burdens were reported in Marib and Taiz, according to WHO.
Displaced Yemeni families from Al-Kadha, west of Taiz, gather at the Al-Akdaf camp in Taiz, Yemen, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdulnasser Alseddik)
Displacement Doubled
As the number of victims has risen in Yemen, the Situation Report said displacement has grown by more than half in eight days.
The Executive Unit for IDPs consolidated report of September 24 registered 27,413 displaced families (180,513 people) across ten governorates, up from 17,852 families (122,297 people) on September 15.
It said Marib and Al-Dhale have been added as governorates of arrival while Aden has more than tripled its caseload to 3,741 families.
WHO also noted that displaced families face rising risks of cholera, measles, malaria and dengue, and disrupted maternal, mental health and chronic care.
The UN agency warned that the Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) registrations reached their highest daily levels of the crisis, with 1,315 households on Sep 21 and 1,470 on Sep 23.
Meanwhile, cholera alerts were registered in two displacement sites in Aden and suspected cholera cases reached 7,784 in a week.
Also, WHO said, around 40% of newly displaced households on the West Coast draw drinking water from unprotected wells or surface water, and nearly one third have no lockable latrine.
Volunteer Naseem Al-Adini, right, provides free meals to displaced people at the Al-Akdaf camp in Taiz, Yemen, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdulnasser Alseddik)
Hospitals Under Pressure
The UN report said the rise in injuries has placed further strain on the healthcare system, with some hospitals temporarily suspending emergency obstetric and neonatal services and referring patients to other facilities able to accommodate them.
Additionally, fewer facilities are reporting in Marib, Taiz, Al-Dhale and Aden, where only about 60% were fully functional before the escalation as verification is under way.
In an effort to strengthen response, the UN agency said it had sent 258 units of the Interagency Emergency Health Kit (IEHK) and the Trauma and Emergency Surgery Kit (TESK) to Yemen, worth more than $184,000.
It also provided additional supplies valued at around $656,000 to 40 health facilities across 10 governorates, alongside securing additional funding for surgical services, trauma care and the response to epidemic diseases.
2,300 Houthis Killed and Wounded Across Eight Fronts in Three Dayshttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5323720-2300-houthis-killed-and-wounded-across-eight-fronts-three-days
A structure appears in the crosshairs in an undated screengrab taken from a social media video released September 27, 2026, which the Media Center of the Yemeni Armed Forces said shows airstrikes against Houthi militia positions. Media Center of the Yemeni Armed Forces/via REUTERS
2,300 Houthis Killed and Wounded Across Eight Fronts in Three Days
A structure appears in the crosshairs in an undated screengrab taken from a social media video released September 27, 2026, which the Media Center of the Yemeni Armed Forces said shows airstrikes against Houthi militia positions. Media Center of the Yemeni Armed Forces/via REUTERS
The Houthi militias have suffered heavy human and military losses across eight Yemeni battlefronts, according to figures released by government forces, as the fiercest clashes remain concentrated in Taiz and Lahj.
There, the group’s offensives have collided with preemptive government strikes aimed at consolidating front lines and disrupting supply routes from Houthi-controlled areas.
The Yemeni Armed Forces said they carried out 706 precision strikes on fronts in Kitaf, Al-Baqa, Alab, Al-Jawf, Marib, Al-Bayda, Lahj, and Taiz, using warplanes, drones, snipers, artillery, and rocket launchers. According to the military, these operations resulted in 2,316 Houthi fighters being killed and wounded over a three-day span.
Government forces said the operations targeted Houthi positions, personnel, and military capabilities, destroying or disabling troop carriers, vehicles, military reinforcements, missile launch platforms, weapons depots and equipment.
According to the military’s account, the figures reflect an expansion of targeting efforts from direct front-line engagements to the group’s logistical depth. This comes as the Houthis continue deploying additional fighters and reinforcements to maintain recent gains along the western coast.
Smoke rises following an airstrike targeting Houthi positions east of Taiz city (Reuters)
Battle for Taiz
Taiz has emerged as the most active front, with Houthi ground assaults coinciding with airstrikes targeting assembly points, storage facilities, and troop movements.
According to official military sources, warplanes carried out five airstrikes on Houthi positions east of the governorate, hitting Mawiyah Junction, the vicinity of Saleh City, and the Reception Camp belonging to the Engineering Corps.
Field sources said the strikes coincided with a meeting of Houthi military leaders and the arrival of reinforcements in the area, noting that some targeted locations were being used to store weapons and equipment.
Warplanes also targeted Houthi reinforcements in the Al-Marzam area of Al-Rubaie, west of Taiz city. Military sources said one of the strikes hit and destroyed a tank.
On the western fronts, government forces repelled a Houthi assault in the Al-Anin front. Local sources also reported that government troops and local fighters thwarted attacks launched by the group against Bani Bakari and Al-Anin in Jabal Habashi district after substantial Houthi reinforcements arrived in the area.
At the same time, government artillery targeted Houthi gatherings and positions in Al-Aqroudh, Al-Kadahah, Saila Ghurab, Al-Ja’sha, and Al-Zaybiyah. According to a briefing by the Taiz Axis Media Center, artillery also destroyed a gun emplacement in Al-Bahabah and struck a military vehicle in Dhahat Al-Rabah.
Government air defenses announced that they had shot down a Houthi drone over the Al-Kadahah front.
Meanwhile, Houthi artillery attacks continued. The group reportedly fired more than six shells toward villages in the Al-Dabab area west of Taiz, causing material damage to homes and spreading panic among residents, according to local sources.
Smoke rises from an area targeted in what the Media Center of the Yemeni Armed Forces said was an airstrike against Houthi militia positions, in an undated screengrab taken from social media video released September 27, 2026. Media Center of the Yemeni Armed Forces/via REUTERS
Supply Lines Under Pressure
The confrontation between Yemeni government forces and the Houthis is no longer confined to front-line positions. Routes used to transport fighters and military equipment have become major targets of government operations.
Local sources said the Houthis sent hundreds of fighters from the Al-Udayn district in Ibb province toward Jabal Ras in Hodeidah aboard dozens of buses to reinforce fronts in Al-Waziyah, Al-Barah, and Bani Omar.
The group has also dispatched substantial manpower reinforcements toward the Hayfan front in Taiz. Field sources report ongoing Houthi movements aimed at exerting pressure on the districts of Al-Shamayatayn, Al-Turbah, and Al-Maqatirah from multiple directions.
These movements indicate that the group is seeking to maintain military pressure west of Taiz while simultaneously advancing toward Hayfan and eastern and southern areas in an effort to create multiple avenues into the governorate.
Government forces, in contrast, are focusing on striking reinforcements before they reach the battlefield, using warplanes, drones, and artillery.
Military spokesman Majed Al-Nazeeli said government forces had killed four Iranian experts in Taiz province who, he claimed, specialized in operating and launching drones and missiles. He provided no details regarding their identities.
Pressure in Lahj
In Lahj, clashes continued along fronts connected to the western coast and areas overlooking the Bab Al-Mandab Strait, amid ongoing shelling and military movements in Al-Waziyah, Al-Mudarabah, Ras Al-Arah, Al-Aghbarah, and Kahbub.
Field sources said the Giants Brigades carried out drone strikes against Houthi gatherings and vehicles in Kahbub while simultaneously repelling another attack by the group.
The developments coincided with government military movements on the Al-Subaiha fronts, where Presidential Leadership Council member Lt. Gen. Mahmoud Al-Subaihi, accompanied by Fourth Military Region Commander Maj. Gen. Hamdi Shukri, inspected operations and readiness levels along front-line positions.
Al-Subaihi stressed the importance of maintaining a high state of readiness, vigilance, and preparedness to deal with field developments, praising the steadfastness of forces across various positions.
Israeli Strikes Kill at Least Two People in Gaza, Officials Sayhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5323709-israeli-strikes-kill-least-two-people-gaza-officials-say
The destroyed car after it was targeted by the Israeli military in Gaza City, 27 September 2026. (EPA)
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Israeli Strikes Kill at Least Two People in Gaza, Officials Say
The destroyed car after it was targeted by the Israeli military in Gaza City, 27 September 2026. (EPA)
Israeli strikes killed at least two Palestinians and wounded several others on Monday in two separate attacks in the Gaza Strip, health officials in the enclave said.
A woman was killed and her husband and others were wounded in one Israeli strike on the rooftop of their building in Gaza City, medics said. Another strike killed a woman and wounded others in central Gaza's Nuseirat refugee camp, they added.
The Israeli military said it struck a militant in Nuseirat, without giving further details. It did not immediately comment on the reported strike in Gaza City.
Palestinian authorities say more than 73,000 people have been killed in Israel's assault on Gaza, launched after Hamas-led fighters killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel in October 2023.
A US-brokered ceasefire agreed last year calls for the eventual reconstruction of the territory, but little progress has been made as negotiators have failed to agree terms for Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw its troops. Israeli airstrikes have continued.
At least 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect, according to the territory's health officials, while the Israeli military says four Israeli soldiers have been killed.
Israel and Hamas trade blame over responsibility for violations of the ceasefire agreement.
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