Yemen Fears Worsening Humanitarian Crisis After US Aid Cuts

A Yemeni volunteer offers food ration to a Yemeni man in the province of Lahj, in southern Yemen, on March 3, 2025, during the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. (AFP)
A Yemeni volunteer offers food ration to a Yemeni man in the province of Lahj, in southern Yemen, on March 3, 2025, during the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. (AFP)
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Yemen Fears Worsening Humanitarian Crisis After US Aid Cuts

A Yemeni volunteer offers food ration to a Yemeni man in the province of Lahj, in southern Yemen, on March 3, 2025, during the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. (AFP)
A Yemeni volunteer offers food ration to a Yemeni man in the province of Lahj, in southern Yemen, on March 3, 2025, during the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. (AFP)

US President Donald Trump's decision to shut down the US Agency for International Development (USAID) is expected to have adverse effects on Yemen's humanitarian and developmental situation.

The agency has been pivotal in supporting policy improvements, good governance, and local community empowerment, especially in light of the country's dire economic conditions caused by war and unrest.

Yemen is currently facing the worst humanitarian crisis in modern history, with the United Nations reporting millions of people affected.

Warnings are mounting over worsening food security and the increasing number of people needing aid, as the local currency collapses, prices soar, and diseases and epidemics spread.

Health and education systems are in disarray, and women and children, particularly in displacement camps, are bearing the brunt of the crisis.

While government officials and local civil society organizations fear the potentially harmful impact of Trump’s decision on vital development projects in health, education, food security, and social and economic protection for women and children, a senior Yemeni official from the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation believes the decision will not directly affect government programs and activities.

The source, who requested anonymity, told Asharq Al-Awsat that USAID funding does not enter the Yemeni government’s budget. The government also lacks full authority to implement, manage, or even oversee the development projects funded by the agency.

The source revealed that the parties responsible for implementing these projects—USAID, the World Bank, and UN agencies—are the ones that determine the nature, locations, and operational budgets of the projects. Government input is typically considered only in the narrowest of circumstances.

In April, the Yemeni government signed a five-year agreement with USAID to provide aid. However, the new US administration’s decision effectively renders this agreement null and void.



Israel Seals off the Occupied West Bank

Palestinians walk by the closed Deir Sharaf checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians walk by the closed Deir Sharaf checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)
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Israel Seals off the Occupied West Bank

Palestinians walk by the closed Deir Sharaf checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians walk by the closed Deir Sharaf checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)

Israel closed all checkpoints to the Israeli-occupied West Bank Friday as the country attacked Iran, a military official said Friday.

The move sealed off entry and exit to the territory, meaning that Palestinians could not leave without special coordination.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with military recommendations.

Around 3 million Palestinians live in the West Bank under Israeli military rule.

With the world’s attention focused on Gaza, Israeli military operations in the West Bank have grown in size, frequency and intensity.

The crackdown has also left tens of thousands unemployed, as they can no longer work the mostly menial jobs in Israel that paid higher wages.

Israel launched a wave of strikes across Iran on Friday that targeted its nuclear program and military sites, killing at least two top military officers and raising the prospect of an all-out war between the two bitter adversaries. It appeared to be the most significant attack Iran has faced since its 1980s war with Iraq.

The strikes came amid simmering tensions over Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program and appeared certain to trigger a reprisal. In its first response, Iran fired more than 100 drones at Israel. Israel said the drones were being intercepted outside its airspace, and it was not immediately clear whether any got through.

Israeli leaders cast the attack as necessary to head off an imminent threat that Iran would build nuclear bombs, though it remains unclear how close the country is to achieving that.