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Legitimacy Holds Houthis Responsible for Famine in Yemen

A pediatrician checks a woman infected with diphtheria at a hospital in Aden, Yemen. (Reuters file photo)
A pediatrician checks a woman infected with diphtheria at a hospital in Aden, Yemen. (Reuters file photo)
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Legitimacy Holds Houthis Responsible for Famine in Yemen

A pediatrician checks a woman infected with diphtheria at a hospital in Aden, Yemen. (Reuters file photo)
A pediatrician checks a woman infected with diphtheria at a hospital in Aden, Yemen. (Reuters file photo)

Yemen's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Marwan Ali Noman held Iranian-backedHouthi militias responsible for the deterioration of the humanitarian condition in the country and subjecting half Yemenis to famine, based on the latest reports of UN Aid Chief Mark Lowcock.

"There is now a clear and present danger of an imminent and great big famine engulfing Yemen: much bigger than anything any professional in this field has seen during their working lives," Lowcock said during a UN Security Council session in New York.

Some 14 million people could soon be on the brink of famine and completely relying on humanitarian aid for survival, he added.

Lowcock said that last month, he called for an urgent and substantial injection of foreign exchange, and the resumption of payments to pensioners and key public sector workers, like teachers and health professionals. He welcomed the announcement by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates of $70 million to cover allowances for 135,000 teachers across Yemen.

For his part, Noman stressed that the Yemeni suffering is caused by the Houthi militias, which are executing the agenda of Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah party in the region. He added that the militias practiced all kinds of murder, torture and forced displacement in all Yemeni cities that they invade.

Houthis recruited 20,000 children, detained 84 aid and oil ships and targeted seven commercial and aid ships in the Red Sea, he stated.

Noman assured that the legitimate government is working on measures to alleviate the humanitarian suffering. The Central Bank has already taken steps in this regard.

Kuwait's Deputy Permanent Delegate to the United Nations Bader Al-Manikh hailed the support of the Saudi government to the Central Bank through the latest deposit of USD200 million, bringing the total of Saudi deposits to USD3.2 billion.

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Arab World

Two Lebanese Officers, One Soldier Killed in Israeli Strike

Lebanese army soldiers stand in front of a house that was destroyed in the recent clashes between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops in Dibbine village, southeast Lebanon, Friday, June 5, 2026, a day after Israeli forces withdrew. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Lebanese army soldiers stand in front of a house that was destroyed in the recent clashes between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops in Dibbine village, southeast Lebanon, Friday, June 5, 2026, a day after Israeli forces withdrew. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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Two Lebanese Officers, One Soldier Killed in Israeli Strike

Lebanese army soldiers stand in front of a house that was destroyed in the recent clashes between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops in Dibbine village, southeast Lebanon, Friday, June 5, 2026, a day after Israeli forces withdrew. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Lebanese army soldiers stand in front of a house that was destroyed in the recent clashes between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops in Dibbine village, southeast Lebanon, Friday, June 5, 2026, a day after Israeli forces withdrew. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Two Lebanese officers and one ​soldier were killed in an Israeli strike on a vehicle in south Lebanon, the Lebanese military said Saturday, days after the two countries announced a conditional truce following talks in the United States.

Later, ​the ‌Israeli ⁠military ​said it ⁠targeted the vehicle after identifying what it described as a threat to its forces and receiving indications ⁠that Hezbollah was ‌preparing ‌to fire on Israeli ​troops ‌from the area.

It ‌said an initial inquiry showed that two Lebanese army officers and a soldier ‌were inside the vehicle and that ⁠the incident ⁠was under review.

A ceasefire that was supposed to end the fighting in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah took effect on April 17, but has not been respected.

Hezbollah and Israel have frequently exchanged accusations of violating the truce, with each side justifying its attacks with alleged violations committed by the other side.

A further conditional truce was announced by Lebanese and Israeli envoys this week in Washington.

It would require Hezbollah to stop firing, withdraw from near the Israeli border and would see Lebanon's army deploy to new "pilot zones" in the area, where it will exercise exclusive control.

But Hezbollah has rejected the agreement, calling for a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.

On Saturday, Israel renewed evacuation orders for five villages in Lebanon's south and east, telling residents to move north of the Zahrani River.

"In light of the terrorist Hezbollah's violation of the ceasefire agreement, the IDF is forced to act against it with force," the Israeli military's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on Telegram.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said in an interview with CNN that aired on Friday that Iran must stop interfering in Lebanon.

"It's not your country, it's our country," he said. "It's not your job to interfere into our country."

"They are using Lebanon as a bargaining chip in their negotiation with the United States. It's unacceptable," he added.

"Hezbollah must understand that (there is) no other way but to sit and talk, no other way to solve this problem and to save what's left except through negotiation and diplomacy," Aoun added.

 

"The majority of the Lebanese people are fed up with war."

Arab World

Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian Infant in West Bank

Fahd Abu Heikal, 41 displays a mobile photo of his seven month old Palestinian baby boy Sam, who was killed on Friday when Israeli soldiers fired at the vehicle carrying him and his parents, in Tel Rumeida, at a hospital in the West Bank city of Hebron Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Fahd Abu Heikal, 41 displays a mobile photo of his seven month old Palestinian baby boy Sam, who was killed on Friday when Israeli soldiers fired at the vehicle carrying him and his parents, in Tel Rumeida, at a hospital in the West Bank city of Hebron Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
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Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian Infant in West Bank

Fahd Abu Heikal, 41 displays a mobile photo of his seven month old Palestinian baby boy Sam, who was killed on Friday when Israeli soldiers fired at the vehicle carrying him and his parents, in Tel Rumeida, at a hospital in the West Bank city of Hebron Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Fahd Abu Heikal, 41 displays a mobile photo of his seven month old Palestinian baby boy Sam, who was killed on Friday when Israeli soldiers fired at the vehicle carrying him and his parents, in Tel Rumeida, at a hospital in the West Bank city of Hebron Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Israeli troops killed a seven-month-old Palestinian baby boy after firing at his parents’ vehicle in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said.

Sam Fahd Abu Haikal was killed Friday evening, and his parents were wounded while driving in the Tel Rumeida area south of Hebron City, according to the ministry.

The official Palestinian news agency WAFA said the infant was critically wounded after being struck in the jaw by the same bullet that injured his mother. He later died of his injuries.

His father, Fahd Abdul Aziz Abu Haikal, a lecturer at Bethlehem University, was shot in the hand. They were traveling from Bethlehem to visit family in Hebron when soldiers opened fire, the agency reported.

A man inspects the shattered family vehicle of seven month old Palestinian baby boy Sam Fahd Abu Heikal, who was killed on Friday when Israeli soldiers fired at the vehicle carrying him and his parents, in Tel Rumeida, in the West Bank city of Hebron Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Israel’s military has scaled up military operations in the West Bank since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack.

The United Nations said last month that more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem since the war began, at least 240 of them children. Forty-nine people have been killed since the start of this year, it said.

The army said an initial inquiry found that the injured were uninvolved civilians and said the situation is under review.

Israel's military said Friday that soldiers shot at a vehicle that was perceived to be accelerating toward them in the Hebron area. It said soldiers responded with single shots, wounding three Palestinians who were evacuated for medical treatment.

Arab World

Yemeni Gov’t Accuses Houthis of Assassinating Senior Development Official

Yemeni Interior Minister Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Haidan (Government media)
Yemeni Interior Minister Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Haidan (Government media)
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Yemeni Gov’t Accuses Houthis of Assassinating Senior Development Official

Yemeni Interior Minister Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Haidan (Government media)
Yemeni Interior Minister Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Haidan (Government media)

The Yemeni government has accused the Houthi group of assassinating one of the country’s most prominent development officials, in a case that has drawn wide attention because of the victim’s stature and his role in leading an important development program.

The accusation was made during talks between Yemeni Interior Minister Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Haidan and European Union Ambassador to Yemen Patrick Simonnet.

Haidan briefed the ambassador on the latest findings in the investigation into the killing of Wesam Qaid, Acting Executive Director of the Social Fund for Development (SFD), and on the measures taken by security agencies since the incident, according to official media.

The program has worked for decades to support local communities and ease the impact of humanitarian crises.

Haidan said the investigation had led to the arrest of several suspects. He also pointed to evidence that authorities said proved Houthi involvement in planning and carrying out the killing.

The case adds a new dimension to accusations exchanged between the government and the group over the targeting of civilian cadres and workers in humanitarian and development fields.

According to Yemen’s Interior Ministry, the investigation produced what it described as decisive results, prompting authorities to hold the Houthis responsible for the assassination.

Qaid had led an institution that played a central role in carrying out development and service projects across Yemen’s governorates.

Haidan told the EU ambassador that security agencies were continuing to complete the investigation, collect evidence, and pursue those involved. He said the crime could not be separated from the complex security climate Yemen has faced for years.

He also linked the case to the Houthis’ continued detention of a number of United Nations employees and staff from international organizations, saying such practices reflected an escalating pattern of restrictions on humanitarian and development work.

Government circles see the killing as a painful blow to development efforts in Yemen.

The SFD is considered one of the country’s most important institutions, having maintained its work during the years of war and helped provide jobs and improve basic services in the most vulnerable areas.

The assassination case was discussed as part of broader talks on security cooperation between Yemen and the EU. Haidan praised the EU’s support for the Yemeni government and its programs to build the capacity of security agencies.

He said his ministry hoped to expand its partnership with the European Union, particularly in combating illegal migration and cross-border security challenges. He stressed the importance of joint coordination to protect mutual interests and promote stability.

Simonnet, for his part, reiterated EU’s support for Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council and government. He also confirmed continued cooperation with the Interior Ministry in various security fields to help consolidate security and stability, according to official media.

The support comes as the government seeks to mobilize more international backing to confront worsening security, economic, and humanitarian challenges, amid the continuing conflict and declining international funding for relief and development programs.