Sanaa IDPs Face Hunger After Houthis Seize Aid

A nurse weighs Afaf Hussein, 10, who is malnourished, at the malnutrition treatment ward of al-Sabeen hospital in Sanaa, Yemen, January 31, 2019. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
A nurse weighs Afaf Hussein, 10, who is malnourished, at the malnutrition treatment ward of al-Sabeen hospital in Sanaa, Yemen, January 31, 2019. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
TT
20

Sanaa IDPs Face Hunger After Houthis Seize Aid

A nurse weighs Afaf Hussein, 10, who is malnourished, at the malnutrition treatment ward of al-Sabeen hospital in Sanaa, Yemen, January 31, 2019. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
A nurse weighs Afaf Hussein, 10, who is malnourished, at the malnutrition treatment ward of al-Sabeen hospital in Sanaa, Yemen, January 31, 2019. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

Sabri Moneef, an internally displaced Yemeni who left Hodeidah for Sanaa, voiced his deep concerns and fears towards relief agencies halving their aid as per their announcement last April.

Moneef says he dreads that his family, which is very dependent on food aid, will be cut off completely and left to starve.

As a father of eight children, Moneef complains that he is being denied his share of food baskets distributed by the UN after aid having come to a halt. Houthis in Sanaa claim that it was the UN that stopped the aid.

Moneef, 43, says the last time his family received any aid was in Ramadan. Even then the food basket they received was missing cooking oil and sugar. The impoverished refugee in Sanaa claims that Houthis had plundered the missing items given that they were in charge of aid distribution in the coup-held capital.

He also talks about hundreds of IDPs in Sanaa who have not received their food aid for over four months, as they face several Houthi obstacles that prevent them from obtaining aid allocated for them.

According to local statistics, there are more than 60,000 Yemeni families who have been displaced during the past years to Sanaa due to the Houthi-waged war.

The livelihood of these families mainly depends on the international relief aid provided to them.

A number of international donors, including the US, have cut aid to Yemenis as a result of their suspicions that their previous contributions were being seized and diverted to militia-controlled areas, instead of being distributed to the needy.

Relief officials said that they had faced many delays in the past in obtaining the necessary approvals and statements by the Houthi militias to deliver aid. They also added that their employees are exposed to abuse and detention by the group's militants.



Trump Says He Hopes for Gaza Deal within a Week

US President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn upon arrival at the White House in Washinton, DC, on July 13, 2025 after attending the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup final in New Jersey. (Photo by Allison ROBBERT / AFP)
US President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn upon arrival at the White House in Washinton, DC, on July 13, 2025 after attending the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup final in New Jersey. (Photo by Allison ROBBERT / AFP)
TT
20

Trump Says He Hopes for Gaza Deal within a Week

US President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn upon arrival at the White House in Washinton, DC, on July 13, 2025 after attending the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup final in New Jersey. (Photo by Allison ROBBERT / AFP)
US President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn upon arrival at the White House in Washinton, DC, on July 13, 2025 after attending the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup final in New Jersey. (Photo by Allison ROBBERT / AFP)

US President Donald Trump said Sunday he hoped talks for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will be "straightened out" this week.

The US is backing a 60-day ceasefire with a phased release of hostages, Israeli troop withdrawals from parts of Gaza and talks to end the conflict. Trump told reporters, "We are talking and hopefully we're going to get that straightened out over the next week."

On Sunday, Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip killed at least 32 people, including six children at a water collection point, while the Palestinian death toll passed 58,000 after 21 months of war, local health officials said.
Israel and Hamas appeared no closer to a breakthrough in indirect talks meant to pause the war and free some Israeli hostages after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Washington visit last week. A sticking point has emerged over Israeli troops ' deployment during a ceasefire.
Israel says it will end the war only once Hamas surrenders, disarms and goes into exile, something it refuses to do. Hamas says it is willing to free all the remaining 50 hostages, about 20 said to be alive, in exchange for the war's end and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces.