Saudi Arabia Announces Bounties for 40 Houthi Leaders

List of 40 Houthi leaders (Asharq Al-Awsat)
List of 40 Houthi leaders (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Announces Bounties for 40 Houthi Leaders

List of 40 Houthi leaders (Asharq Al-Awsat)
List of 40 Houthi leaders (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia announced a list of 40 names of militia leaders and elements responsible for planning, executing and supporting various terrorist activities by Houthi terrorist group. The Kingdom also announced financial rewards of over $430 million for information leading to their arrest or whereabouts.

The list included president of Political Council Saleh Ali al-Sammad, head of Revolutionary Committee of the Houthi armed militia Mohammed Ali Abdulkarim al-Houthi, Zakaria al-Shami, Abdullah Yahya al-Hakim, Abduqalik Bader al-Houthi, Mohammed al-Atifi, Yousef Ahssan al-Madani, Abdulqader al-Shami, Abdurab Jurfan, and Yahya al-Shami where a reward of $20 million had been allocated to anyone who gives information leading to their arrest.

The list also included: Abdulkarim al-Houthi, Yahya al-Houthi, Hassan Zaid, Safar al-Sofi, Mohammed al-Ghumari, Abdulrazaq al-Marouni, Amer al-Marani, Ibrahim al-Shami, Fadhl Motaa', Mohsin al-Hamzi, Ahmad Daghsan, Ahmad Hamid, Talal A'qlan, Abdulilah Hajar, renowned arms dealer Faris Mana'a, Ahmad Aqabat, Abdulatif al-Mahdi, Abdulhakim al-Khywani, Faris al-Saqaf, Mobarak al-Zaydi, Ali al-Razami, Salih Mosfir al-Shaer, Ali al-Moshaki, Mohammad Sharafaldeen, Dhaif-Allah al-Shami, Abu Ali al-Kahlani, and Ali Qarshah. The rewards range between $5 million and $15 million.

The list had been issued based on the Kingdom's commitments to combat terrorism and its sources of financing, fight extremist ideology and its tools and promotion, as well as its continuous action to protect the society from it.

A statement on Saudi Press Agency (SPA) also indicated that the names had been assigned in light of increased terrorist activity by "Houthi group and their continuous endeavor to harm the Kingdom's security with support of the Iranian regime (the sponsor of the all terrorist organizations in the region) and detected bolstering the Houthi terrorist group's cooperation with the Lebanese Hezbollah terrorist organization within framework of exchanging expertise and enhancing military capabilities among these terrorist organizations and the use of ballistic missiles in a grave precedent."

These dangerous missiles were made available to these rogue terrorist organizations in a direct threat to the Kingdom's cities which aims at terrorizing the innocent and harming the Kingdom's security, stability, tranquility and public order, according to the statement.

The Kingdom urged "those who own information to contact competent authorities in the Kingdom through the stated safe communication mechanisms which have been designed to protect the secrecy of provided information and the identity of its providers," the statement added.

Earlier, Saudi-led coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki said that this list is one of many the Kingdom has of armed terrorist groups including Houthis which insists on "harming Saudi's security and safety of the country with the support of the Iranian regime and Hezbollah."

"The Houthis' dangerous escalation came because of Iranian support," Maliki said in a press conference.

Maliki gave pieces of evidence that prove Iran's involvement in providing Houthis with modern weapons, with the continuous support of Lebanese Hezbollah.

He stated that Houthis launched a missile at Riyadh which was intercepted and fragments of the missile landed in King Khaled International Airport, however air traffic was not disrupted.

"Shattered fragments from the intercepted missile landed in an uninhabited area of the airport and there were no injuries," he assured.

Maliki pointed out that this dangerous escalation would not have been possible hadn't it been for the support of Tehran regime. He explained that the ballistic missile provided by Iran to Houthis were backed by Iranian experts and with the support of Lebanese Hezbollah.

The spokesperson said that those militias are trying to control Bab el-Mandeb which is a dangerous threat to the regional security and stability and international navigation.

Showing the pictures of two ballistic missiles, named “Volcano 1” and “Volcano 2”, Maliki said they are proofs of smuggled ballistic missiles since Yemen didn’t have any before. He added that the Houthis planted nearly 50,000 mines on the border of Saudi Arabia.

He also explained that Iran had provided Houthis with techniques available in "Earthquake" missile that is used anti-aircrafts, however they used it as a ground-to-air missile. He added that the missile had been altered from air-to-air to become ground-to-air and when launched can reach 300 kilometers.

Maliki confirmed that Earthquake missile is only owned by Iran, announcing that coalition had destroyed one missile of that kind that had been prepared to be launched at Nejran border area.



UN Condemns Israel's Moves against Agency for Palestinian Refugees

UNRWA center targeted by Israeli shelling in northern Gaza (DPA)
UNRWA center targeted by Israeli shelling in northern Gaza (DPA)
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UN Condemns Israel's Moves against Agency for Palestinian Refugees

UNRWA center targeted by Israeli shelling in northern Gaza (DPA)
UNRWA center targeted by Israeli shelling in northern Gaza (DPA)

The United Nations warned Tuesday that recent actions by Israel against the UN agency for Palestinian refugees risked depriving millions of people of basic services such as education and healthcare.

Israel's parliament passed new legislation on Monday formally stripping the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) of diplomatic immunity, and barring Israeli companies from providing water or electricity to the agency's institutions, AFP reported.

According to UNRWA, the legislation also grants the Israeli government the authority to expropriate the agency's properties in East Jerusalem, including its headquarters and main vocational training center.

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini condemned the legislation as "outrageous", decrying it on social media as "part of an ongoing, systematic campaign to discredit UNRWA and thereby obstruct the core role that the agency plays providing human-development assistance and services to Palestine refugees".

Filippo Grandi, the outgoing head of the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and a former UNRWA chief, also criticised the move as "very unfortunate".

In an interview with AFP, he highlighted that UNRWA, unlike other UN agencies, provides basic public services such as education and healthcare to the millions of registered Palestinian refugees it serves across Gaza and the West Bank, as well as in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.

"If you deprive those people of those services... then you had better find a substitute," he said, warning: "I think it would be very difficult."

"At the moment, there is a great risk that millions of people will be deprived of basic services if UNRWA is further deprived of space to work, and resources to work."

Israel has been ratcheting up pressure on UNRWA over the past two years.

It has accused the agency of providing cover for Hamas militants, claiming that some UNRWA employees took part in the militant group's October 7, 2023 assault on Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza.

A series of UN-linked internal and external investigations found some "neutrality-related issues" at UNRWA, but stressed Israel had not provided conclusive evidence for its headline allegation.

Grandi criticised the torrent of accusations that have swirled around the agency.

"UNRWA is a very indispensable organization in the Middle East," he said.

"Contrary to much of the frankly baseless rhetoric that we have heard in the past couple of years, UNRWA is a force for peace and stability," he added.

"In a region in which you need every bit of stability and efforts towards peace, it would be really irresponsible to let such an important organization decline further."


Syria Imposes Night Curfew on Port City of Latakia

People watch as Syrian Security forces are deployed after clashes erupted during a protest in the city of Latakia, Syria, 28 December 2025. EPA/AHMAD FALLAHA
People watch as Syrian Security forces are deployed after clashes erupted during a protest in the city of Latakia, Syria, 28 December 2025. EPA/AHMAD FALLAHA
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Syria Imposes Night Curfew on Port City of Latakia

People watch as Syrian Security forces are deployed after clashes erupted during a protest in the city of Latakia, Syria, 28 December 2025. EPA/AHMAD FALLAHA
People watch as Syrian Security forces are deployed after clashes erupted during a protest in the city of Latakia, Syria, 28 December 2025. EPA/AHMAD FALLAHA

Syrian authorities imposed an overnight curfew in the coastal city of Latakia on Tuesday.

Authorities announced a "curfew in Latakia city, effective from 5:00pm (1400 GMT) on Tuesday, December 30, 2025, until 6:00am (0300 GMT) on Wednesday, December 31, 2025".


Jailed Turkish Kurd Leader Calls on Government to Broker Deal for Syrian Kurds

(FILES) Supporters display a poster depicting jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan, after he called on the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to disarm and dissolve itself in Diyarbakir, southeastern Türkiye, on February 27, 2025. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP)
(FILES) Supporters display a poster depicting jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan, after he called on the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to disarm and dissolve itself in Diyarbakir, southeastern Türkiye, on February 27, 2025. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP)
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Jailed Turkish Kurd Leader Calls on Government to Broker Deal for Syrian Kurds

(FILES) Supporters display a poster depicting jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan, after he called on the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to disarm and dissolve itself in Diyarbakir, southeastern Türkiye, on February 27, 2025. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP)
(FILES) Supporters display a poster depicting jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan, after he called on the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to disarm and dissolve itself in Diyarbakir, southeastern Türkiye, on February 27, 2025. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP)

Jailed Turkish Kurd leader Abdullah Ocalan said Tuesday that it was "crucial" for Türkiye’s government to broker a peace deal between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Damascus government.

Clashes between Syrian forces and the SDF have cast doubt over a deal to integrate the group's fighters into the army, which was due to take effect by the end of the year, reported AFP.

Ocalan, founder of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) group, called on Türkiye to help ensure implementation of the deal announced in March between the SDF and the Syrian government.

"It is essential for Türkiye to play a role of facilitator, constructively and aimed at dialogue," he said in a message released by Türkiye's pro-Kurdish DEM party.

"This is crucial for both regional peace and to strengthen its own internal peace," Ocalan, who has been jailed for 26 years, added.

"The fundamental demand made in the agreement signed on March 10 between the SDF and the government in Damascus is for a democratic political model permitting (Syria's) peoples to govern together," he added.

"This approach also includes the principle of democratic integration, negotiable with the central authorities. The implementation of the March 10 agreement will facilitate and accelerate that process."

The backbone of the US-backed SDF is the YPG, a Kurdish group seen by Türkiye as an extension of the PKK.

Türkiye and Syria both face long-running unrest in their Kurdish-majority regions, which span their shared border.

In Türkiye, the PKK agreed this year at Ocalan's urging to end its four-decade armed struggle.

In Syria, Sharaa has agreed to merge the Kurds' semi-autonomous administration into the central government, but deadly clashes and a series of differences have held up implementation of the deal.

The SDF is calling for a decentralized government, which Sharaa rejects.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, whose country sees Kurdish fighters across the border as a threat, urged the SDF last week not to be an "obstacle" to stability.

Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi said Thursday that "all efforts" were being made to prevent the collapse of talks.