Yemeni Minister of Works: Our Projects Include Areas Controlled by the Coup

In this Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2017 photo, a Yemeni vendor displays honey for sale in a shop in Sanaa, Yemen. (AP)
In this Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2017 photo, a Yemeni vendor displays honey for sale in a shop in Sanaa, Yemen. (AP)
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Yemeni Minister of Works: Our Projects Include Areas Controlled by the Coup

In this Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2017 photo, a Yemeni vendor displays honey for sale in a shop in Sanaa, Yemen. (AP)
In this Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2017 photo, a Yemeni vendor displays honey for sale in a shop in Sanaa, Yemen. (AP)

A minister in Yemen’s legitimate government said that infrastructure projects in Yemen would also cover areas controlled by the coup forces, in response to claims that reconstruction works were carried out exclusively in regions that are under government’s authority.

Yemeni Minister of Public Works, Dr. Moeen Abdul Malik, underlined on saturday the presence of projects in the areas under the control of the coup forces, such as an urbanization project, with emergency intervention and waste transportation. These projects were carried out in Sanaa, Hodeidah and Aden, according to the minister, noting that works included rehabilitation of roads and the provision of basic electricity services in hospitals.

“We offer projects related to environmental sanitation that deal with the conditions of the population because the coup militia treats citizens as hostages and does not care about environmental sanitation projects or budgets for operating hospitals,” he stated.

The Yemeni minister emphasized the importance of transport projects as “they reduce the delivery cost of basic materials such as water and other services, adding that his ministry was now in a better situation, due to the mobilization of revenues from oil derivatives.

“The rehabilitation of the roads started with the restoration of some 84 square kilometers. The road has been rehabilitated, including repairing some of the bridges,” he stated, explaining that the main line that has been reconstructed was witnessing continuous flow of traffic.

Last week, the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen launched a new humanitarian operation that includes qualitative initiatives, which are not limited to financial support, but extend to the development of infrastructure to increase the capacity to receive aid by air, sea and land, quickly and effectively.



Hamas and Israel Blame Each Other for Ceasefire Delay

The silhouettes of a military vehicle and a soldier are seen near the Gaza border, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Israel, December 16, 2024. (Reuters)
The silhouettes of a military vehicle and a soldier are seen near the Gaza border, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Israel, December 16, 2024. (Reuters)
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Hamas and Israel Blame Each Other for Ceasefire Delay

The silhouettes of a military vehicle and a soldier are seen near the Gaza border, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Israel, December 16, 2024. (Reuters)
The silhouettes of a military vehicle and a soldier are seen near the Gaza border, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Israel, December 16, 2024. (Reuters)

The Palestinian group Hamas and Israel traded blame on Wednesday over their failure to conclude a ceasefire agreement despite progress reported by both sides in past days.

Hamas said that Israel had laid down further conditions, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the group of going back on understandings already reached.

"The occupation has set new conditions related to withdrawal, ceasefire, prisoners, and the return of the displaced, which has delayed reaching the agreement that was available," Hamas said.

It added that it was showing flexibility and that the talks, mediated by Qatar and Egypt, were serious.

Netanyahu countered in a statement: "The Hamas terrorist organization continues to lie, is reneging on understandings that have already been reached, and is continuing to create difficulties in the negotiations."

Israel will, however, continue relentless efforts to return hostages, he added.

Israeli negotiators returned to Israel from Qatar on Tuesday evening for consultations about a hostage deal after a significant week of talks, Netanyahu's office said on Tuesday.

The US and Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt have stepped up efforts to conclude a phased deal in the past two weeks. One of the challenges has been agreements on Israeli troop deployments.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, speaking with commanders in southern Gaza, said on Wednesday that Israel will retain security control of the enclave, including by means of buffer zones and controlling posts.

Hamas is demanding an end to the war, while Israel says it wants to end Hamas' rule of the enclave first, to ensure it will no longer pose a threat to Israelis.

ISRAEL KEEPS UP MILITARY PRESSURE

Meanwhile Israeli forces kept up pressure on the northern Gaza Strip, in one of the most punishing campaigns of the 14-month war, including around three hospitals on the northern edge of the enclave, in Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun and Jabalia.

Palestinians accuse Israel of seeking to permanently depopulate northern Gaza to create a buffer zone. Israel denies this and says it has instructed civilians to leave those areas for their own safety while its troops battle Hamas fighters.

Israeli strikes killed at least 24 people across Gaza on Wednesday, health officials said. One strike hit a former school sheltering displaced families in Gaza City's suburb of Sheikh Radwan, they added.

The Israeli military said it struck a Hamas fighters operating in the area of Al-Furqan in Gaza City.

Several Palestinians were killed and wounded in the Al-Mawasi area, an Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in southern Gaza, where the military said it was targeting another Hamas operative.

The war was triggered by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's campaign against Hamas in Gaza has since killed more than 45,300 Palestinians, according to health officials in the Hamas-run enclave. Most of the population of 2.3 million has been displaced and much of Gaza is in ruins.