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Yemen: UN to Sign Aid Arrangements with Internationally-Recognized Government

A boy walks past soldiers from the Saudi-led coalition patrolling a street in Yemen's southern port city of Aden September 26, 2015. REUTERS
A boy walks past soldiers from the Saudi-led coalition patrolling a street in Yemen's southern port city of Aden September 26, 2015. REUTERS
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Yemen: UN to Sign Aid Arrangements with Internationally-Recognized Government

A boy walks past soldiers from the Saudi-led coalition patrolling a street in Yemen's southern port city of Aden September 26, 2015. REUTERS
A boy walks past soldiers from the Saudi-led coalition patrolling a street in Yemen's southern port city of Aden September 26, 2015. REUTERS

Yemeni UN Humanitarian Coordinator Lise Grande broke her silence on an alleged deal signed between the international body and Houthi militias in Yemen for establishing an air bridge out of the war-torn country.

Grande reaffirmed that the global body upholds all United Nations Security Council resolutions, and recognizes the freely-elected Yemeni government as the sole legitimate authority in Yemen.

The air bridge project, which was a hot topic for debate between UN and Yemeni government delegates, will be signed with the legitimate government at the right time and place, reported the Yemeni official Saba news agency.

For his part, Undersecretary of the Yemeni Foreign Ministry for Political Affairs Mansour Bajash said that UN-affiliated offices and organizations operating in Houthi-held Sanaa, coercively signing agreements with militia groups that do not represent the Yemeni people is unjustifiable, saying that the Aden-based government will not recognize the arrangement as legitimate.

Yemen's government has said it will not recognize an agreement struck with Iran-aligned Houthis granting safe passage for airlifts claiming to be transporting critically ill civilians abroad for treatment.

Officials in Yemen are concerned that fighters from Iran-affiliate Lebanese group "Hezbollah" are fighting alongside the rebels and could use the flights to smuggle its members and allied rebels out of the country under a medical guise.

For his part, Yemeni Prime Minister Press Secretary Ghamdan al-Sharif said that Grande will be signing deals for humanitarian arrangements with the legitimate government in upcoming days.

“The Yemeni government is keen on alleviating the suffering of Yemenis and allowing for an air bridge to care for the sick and those in need of treatment successfully is a national duty it undertakes,” Sharif said.

Sharif adds that the government was the first to mobilize “countless initiatives” on international and regional scales to aid Yemenis in overcoming everyday struggles caused by the Houthi-waged civil war.

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Israeli Settlers Briefly Crossed into Lebanon, the Military Says

UN "blue line" notifications are pictured near the Lebanese-Israeli border as seen from the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, Lebanon October 14, 2022. (Reuters)
UN "blue line" notifications are pictured near the Lebanese-Israeli border as seen from the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, Lebanon October 14, 2022. (Reuters)
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Israeli Settlers Briefly Crossed into Lebanon, the Military Says

UN "blue line" notifications are pictured near the Lebanese-Israeli border as seen from the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, Lebanon October 14, 2022. (Reuters)
UN "blue line" notifications are pictured near the Lebanese-Israeli border as seen from the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, Lebanon October 14, 2022. (Reuters)

A group of Israeli settlers have briefly crossed the border into Lebanon before they were removed by troops, the military acknowledged Wednesday.

The civilians who crossed the border came from the Uri Tzafon movement, a group calling for Israeli settlement of southern Lebanon. Photos posted by the group online Saturday showed a small group of activists holding signs and erecting tents inside Lebanon while Israeli soldiers were present.

After first denying the reports to Israeli media, the military said Wednesday that civilians had crossed the border “by a few meters” and were removed by troops.

The military called the border breach a “serious incident” and said it was investigating.

“Any attempt to approach or cross the border into Lebanese territory without coordination poses a life-threatening risk and interferes with the IDF’s ability to operate in the area and carry out its mission,” the military said, using the acronym for the Israel Defense Forces.

The settler group Uri Tzafon, which means “Awaken the North” in Hebrew, crossed the border in the area of the Lebanese village of Maroun al-Ras. In the past, the movement has said the area is home to an old Hebrew settlement.

Groups of settler activists also have breached the Gaza border more than once since the Israel-Hamas war erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, at one point erecting small wooden tents before they were evacuated by troops. Daniela Weiss, the leader of the movement to resettle Gaza, claims she has entered Gaza twice since the start of the war.

Israel’s settler movement has been emboldened by its current government -- the furthest-right in Israeli history -- and is now seeking to expand to parts of southern Lebanon and the north of the Gaza.