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Houthis Accused of Causing ‘Demographic Change’ in Sanaa

Armed Houthi followers carry their rifles as they attend a gathering to show support for the Houthi movement in Sanaa, Yemen December 19, 2018. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
Armed Houthi followers carry their rifles as they attend a gathering to show support for the Houthi movement in Sanaa, Yemen December 19, 2018. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
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Houthis Accused of Causing ‘Demographic Change’ in Sanaa

Armed Houthi followers carry their rifles as they attend a gathering to show support for the Houthi movement in Sanaa, Yemen December 19, 2018. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
Armed Houthi followers carry their rifles as they attend a gathering to show support for the Houthi movement in Sanaa, Yemen December 19, 2018. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

Yemeni officials have attributed soaring property prices in the Yemeni capital Sanaa to Houthi militias forcing a "demographic change" that includes settling their members coming from Saada, Amran and Hajjah.

Al-Thawra newspaper quoted local sources as saying that the rise in the prices is caused by a huge Houthi demand to settle militia members in Sanaa.

Houthi leaders are rushing to purchase properties and rent residential apartments, leading to higher rents and an increase in the price of land plots, the sources said.

Most of the members brought to Sanaa are from Saada, Amran, and Hajjah, they said.

As a result of the new changes, most residents in the capital are incapable of paying soaring rents amid a paralysis in the payment of their salaries in the past three years and a rise in the number of low-income families.

Further, sources revealed that Houthi official Ahmed Hamed endorsed YER1.8 billion (one dollar equals around YER50) to pay rents to his followers coming from Saada and settling across Sanaa and its suburbs.

They added that Hamed founded in 2016 a secret department, affiliated with the Supreme Political Council, to shelter the militants.

The department, which falls under his direct supervision, has a clear mission to pay the rents and purchase lands, houses and villas for Houthi officials close to the group’s leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi.

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Several Killed in Israeli Airstrike North Gaza Town amid Ceasefire Disputes

Palestinians reported more airstrikes and heavy fighting in northern Gaza, which has been largely isolated by Israeli troops for months and where the World Food Program says a famine is underway (File photo)
Palestinians reported more airstrikes and heavy fighting in northern Gaza, which has been largely isolated by Israeli troops for months and where the World Food Program says a famine is underway (File photo)
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Several Killed in Israeli Airstrike North Gaza Town amid Ceasefire Disputes

Palestinians reported more airstrikes and heavy fighting in northern Gaza, which has been largely isolated by Israeli troops for months and where the World Food Program says a famine is underway (File photo)
Palestinians reported more airstrikes and heavy fighting in northern Gaza, which has been largely isolated by Israeli troops for months and where the World Food Program says a famine is underway (File photo)

At least five Palestinians were killed, including two local journalists, and others wounded on Saturday in an Israeli strike on Gaza's northern Beit Lahiya town, medics told Reuters, as Hamas' leaders hold Gaza ceasefire talks with mediators in Cairo.

Several were critically injured as the strike hit a car, with casualties inside and outside the vehicle, the medics added.

Witnesses and fellow journalists said the people in the car were on a mission for a charity called Al-Khair Foundation in Beit Lahiya, and they were accompanied by journalists and photographers when the strike hit them.

The incident underscores the fragility of the January 19 ceasefire agreement that halted large-scale fighting in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian health officials say dozens of people have been killed by Israeli fire despite the truce.

Responding to some of the incidents reported by Gaza medics, the Israeli military says its forces have intervened to thwart threats by "terrorists" approaching its forces or planting bombs on the ground near where forces operate.

Since a temporary first phase of the ceasefire expired on March 2, Israel has rejected opening the second phase of talks, which would require it to negotiate over a permanent end to the war, the main demand of Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The incident coincided with a visit by Hamas' exiled Gaza chief, Khalil Al-Hayya, to Cairo for further ceasefire talks aimed at resolving disputes with Israel that could risk a resumption of fighting in the enclave.

On Friday, Hamas said it had agreed to free an American-Israeli dual national if Israel begins the next phase of ceasefire talks towards a permanent end to the war, an offer Israel dismissed as "psychological warfare."

Hamas said it had made the offer to release New Jersey native Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old soldier in the Israeli army, after receiving a proposal from mediators for negotiations on the second phase of a ceasefire deal.

Israel says it wants to extend the ceasefire's temporary first phase, a proposal backed by US envoy Steve Witkoff. Hamas says it will resume freeing hostages only under the second phase.

The war began when Hamas carried out a cross-border raid into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and capturing 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's subsequent assault on Gaza has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials, and reduced much of the territory to rubble and led to accusations of genocide and war crimes that Israel denies.