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Report: Imports Ongoing to Hodeidah Following Israeli Attacks

Ships are docked at the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Yemen July 31, 2024. (Reuters)
Ships are docked at the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Yemen July 31, 2024. (Reuters)
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Report: Imports Ongoing to Hodeidah Following Israeli Attacks

Ships are docked at the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Yemen July 31, 2024. (Reuters)
Ships are docked at the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Yemen July 31, 2024. (Reuters)

Food imports are ongoing to Houthi-controlled areas following the recent Israeli attacks on vital infrastructure and facilities at the Ras Isa and Hodeidah ports in Yemen, an international report revealed.
According to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), early analysis indicates an overall low concern for the potential for meaningful disruptions to food and fuel import volumes.
On September 29, Israel targeted vital infrastructure and facilities in Hodeidah for the second time in retaliation for Houthi attacks on Israel. The attacks involved oil tanks at the Ras Isa port (north of the western city of Hodeidah), the port of Hodeidah (the target of the first attack in July), and the governorate’s two main power stations.
According to officials, the airstrikes killed five civilians and wounded 57.
FEWS said the damage to power stations resulted in power outages, including in Hodeidah and parts of Sanaa. It noted that as of the end of September, the power stations remained non-operational. Ras al-Khuthayb power station (the largest) reportedly incurred the most damage, with boilers destroyed by the bombing.
The Network affirmed that three of four oil tanks in Ras Isa were damaged, while Houthis officials reported that the fuel tanks had been recently emptied in anticipation of Israeli strikes.
FEWS also said significant damage at Hodeidah port has not been reported.
Houthi officials report that impacts of the strikes were insignificant.
According to available information, food and fuel imports are ongoing following the attacks. FEWS said it continues to triangulate available data and information sources in the aftermath of the strike and will provide an updated analysis of any expected impacts on acute food insecurity in the forthcoming October Food Security Outlook report.
However, it said, early analysis indicates overall low concern for the potential for meaningful disruptions to food and fuel import volumes.
The report also showed that given poor purchasing capacity and the continued pause of WFP-provided humanitarian food assistance in areas controlled by the Houthi-based authorities, millions of poor households are likely to continue to face food consumption gaps across Yemen, with particular concern for internally displaced persons (IDPs), flood-affected households, and poor households that depend on daily wage opportunities.
FEWS said that across the country, Crisis (IPC Phase 3) or worse outcomes are expected to persist through January 2025, with some Houthi-controlled governorates likely to continue facing Emergency (IPC Phase 4) outcomes amid the food assistance pause and the impacts of recent devastating flooding.
“Above-average rainfall in July and August contributed to favorable growing conditions for crops and rangeland resources (pasture and water for livestock) in many areas,” the FEWS report said.
However, it added, severe flooding has negatively impacted crop production in affected areas. According to a rapid assessment conducted by FAO in August, around 99,000 hectares (ha) of farmland have been impacted.
The vast majority of this impacted farmland was in Hodeidah (77,362 ha) and Hajjah (20,717 ha), representing approximately 12% and 9%, respectively, of the total farmland.
Meanwhile, around 279,000 sheep and goats were potentially impacted, according to the same FAO assessment.
Hodeidah, Hajjah, and Al Jawf were the most affected, with an estimated 6% of sheep and goats impacted Hodeidah (106, 361), followed by 4% Al Jawf (50,664) and 4% in Hajjah (46,424).
Worst-Affected Households
FEWS said that according to the 2021 Food Security and Livelihoods Assessment, these areas are important livestock suppliers and pastoralism is an important livelihood system, particularly in Al Jawf, where an estimated 20% of households considered livestock to be their primary source of income.
Due to losses of key sources of food and income amid the ongoing assistance pause, some worst-affected households in severely affected areas have likely experienced losses of livestock assets and damage to livelihoods, it noted.
The report also revealed that households worst-affected by flooding in both pastoralist and agropastoral areas are likely unable to meet their minimum food needs in the absence of assistance.
According to the report, September marks the start of the main cereal harvest season in Yemen when poor households experience a seasonal boost in food availability from crop production as well as income from labor opportunities along crop production and marketing chains.

 

 

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Israel Deliberately Targets Medical Teams, Aid Workers in Lebanon

Volunteers from the Lebanese Red Cross rescue a woman in the city of Nabatieh in South Lebanon (AFP)
Volunteers from the Lebanese Red Cross rescue a woman in the city of Nabatieh in South Lebanon (AFP)
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Israel Deliberately Targets Medical Teams, Aid Workers in Lebanon

Volunteers from the Lebanese Red Cross rescue a woman in the city of Nabatieh in South Lebanon (AFP)
Volunteers from the Lebanese Red Cross rescue a woman in the city of Nabatieh in South Lebanon (AFP)

Over the past three weeks, Israel has systematically targeted hospitals, medical staff, aid workers, and ambulances across various regions of Lebanon, particularly in the heavily bombarded southern areas.
Tel Aviv appears intent on erasing signs of life and sustainability, especially south of the Litani River, aiming to turn the region into scorched earth and establish a buffer zone by force. The exact size of this zone, who will control it, and whether it will involve a permanent occupation remain unclear.
Lebanese Health Minister Firas Al-Abiad recently stated that Israel is “deliberately and systematically” targeting medical teams, revealing that 13 hospitals are no longer operational, more than 150 healthcare workers have been killed, and over 100 medical centers and 130 ambulances have been targeted.
Last week, Nicolas von Arx, the regional director for the Near and Middle East at the International Committee of the Red Cross, issued an urgent call to protect healthcare personnel, ambulances, hospitals, and primary care centers, expressing deep concern over the attacks on medical facilities.
The Islamic Health Authority, affiliated with Hezbollah, reported that over 80 rescue workers have been killed in the past year, 70 of them in the past three weeks alone. The Scout Association of Amal Movement reported losing 21 members. Meanwhile, the Israeli army recently announced that any vehicle suspected of carrying armed militants would be considered a legitimate military target, regardless of its type.
Sobhiya Najjar, a public policy expert and coordinator of the Social Protection for All campaign at the Center for Social Science Research Applications (CESSRA), highlighted that the destruction of Lebanon’s healthcare system is systematic and mirrors what is happening in Gaza. She noted that Lebanon’s healthcare system, particularly in regions like Baalbek-Hermel, Bint Jbeil, and Tyre, was already fragile.
Najjar told Asharq Al-Awsat that Israel targets medical centers, staff, ambulances, and firefighting services to weaken Hezbollah’s ability to treat the wounded and provide essential healthcare, thus increasing pressure on the health system.
This strategy sows chaos and fear among civilians, weakening morale and hindering the delivery of humanitarian aid, including medical and food supplies. She stressed that such actions violate international laws, which protect medical teams as neutral entities.
Paul Morcos, head of the legal organization Justicia, added that while Israel claims medical facilities and ambulances are used to hide weapons and militants, indiscriminate attacks that endanger doctors, nurses, patients, and civilians are prohibited under international law. He cited the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their protocols, which mandate taking precautions to avoid harm to civilians and ensure proportionality in military operations. These rules, he emphasized, have become customary and are binding on all nations.
For her part, political activist Dr. Mona Fayyad described these actions as part of a “genocide” committed by Israel, deliberately preventing the rescue of the wounded. She criticized the international community’s silence and argued that even if some medical personnel support Hezbollah, there is no justification for risking civilian lives under any pretext.