Yemeni Parties Denounce Int’l Inaction towards Houthi Violence

A girl plays at a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Marib, Yemen October 2, 2020. (Reuters)
A girl plays at a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Marib, Yemen October 2, 2020. (Reuters)
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Yemeni Parties Denounce Int’l Inaction towards Houthi Violence

A girl plays at a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Marib, Yemen October 2, 2020. (Reuters)
A girl plays at a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Marib, Yemen October 2, 2020. (Reuters)

Pro-government parties in Yemen’s National Alliance of Political Parties (NAPP) have denounced international inaction towards the violence of Iran-backed Houthi militias in the war-torn country.

The parties, in an official statement, urged the internationally recognized Yemeni government to undertake decisive action to end battles waged by Houthis in the oil rich Marib governorate. They called for supplying the army with all means necessary for securing victory and defeating coup militias.

Both Houthi violence in Marib, where millions of Yemenis have sought asylum, and against civilian targets in neighboring Saudi Arabia.

“Reckless Houthi escalation behind which the Iranian regime is standing confirms that these militias are persistent in their war on the Yemeni people and efforts to destabilize security and peace in the region,” the NAPP parties said in their statement, adding that Houthis are blocking international peace efforts.

The statement called for “solidarity with the army in Marib and other battlefronts,” and urged joining army ranks to counter Iranian aggression. It also demanded the government “provides all the support needed by the army and popular resistance to win the decisive battle against Houthis.”

Yemeni parties expressed their “surprise at the international community’s failure to act against the Houthi escalation in Marib, where they have attacked densely populated areas and IDP camps with missiles and drones.”

They also warned against the catastrophic humanitarian risks entailed should Houthis not cease hostilities that threaten the entire region’s stability and peace.

The parties said that the removal of Houthis from the US terror blacklist did not inspire the group to shift towards peace. Counter-actively, it emboldened the militia’s drive for violence against civilians.

Both the UN and its Security Council, according to the parties, must play their role in stopping the military escalation and terrorist attacks targeting Yemenis and pressure Iran-backed Houthi militias to submit to the decisions of international legitimacy.

The parties urged holding Houthis responsible for the repercussions of their criminal escalation against civilians.



Hamas Armed Wing Says It Lost Contact with Group Holding Israeli-US Hostage Alexander

Smoke billows after an Israeli strike on Gaza. (Reuters)
Smoke billows after an Israeli strike on Gaza. (Reuters)
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Hamas Armed Wing Says It Lost Contact with Group Holding Israeli-US Hostage Alexander

Smoke billows after an Israeli strike on Gaza. (Reuters)
Smoke billows after an Israeli strike on Gaza. (Reuters)

The armed wing of Hamas said on Tuesday it had lost contact with a group of fighters holding Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander in the Gaza Strip.

Abu Ubaida, the armed wing's spokesperson, said on the Telegram that it lost contact after the Israeli army attacked the place where the fighters were holding Alexander, who is a New Jersey native and a 21-year-old soldier in the Israeli army.

Abu Ubaida did not say where in Gaza Alexander was purportedly held. The armed wing later released a video warning hostages families that their "children will return in black coffins with their bodies torn apart from shrapnel from your army".

Hamas has previously blamed Israel for the deaths of hostages held in Gaza, including as a direct result of military operations, while also acknowledging on at least one occasion that a hostage was killed by a guard. It said the guard had acted against instructions.

There was no immediate response from the Israeli military to a request for comment on the Hamas statement about Alexander.

President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff told reporters at the White House in March that gaining the release of Alexander, believed to be the last living American hostage held by Hamas in Gaza, was a "top priority for us".

The Tikva Forum, a group representing some family members of those held in Gaza, had said earlier on Tuesday that Alexander was among up to 10 hostages who could be released by Hamas if a new ceasefire was reached, citing a conversation a day earlier between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the mother of another hostage. There was no immediate comment on that from Netanyahu's office.

On Saturday Hamas released a video purportedly showing Alexander, who has been held in Gaza since he was captured by Palestinian gunmen on October 7, 2023.

The release of Alexander was at the center of earlier talks held between Hamas leaders and US hostage negotiator Adam Boehler last month.

Hamas released 38 hostages under a ceasefire that began on January 19. In March, Israel's military resumed its ground and aerial offensive on Gaza, abandoning the ceasefire after Hamas rejected proposals to extend the truce without ending the war.

Israeli officials say that offensive will continue until the remaining 59 hostages are freed and Gaza is demilitarized. Hamas insists it will free hostages only as part of a deal to end the war and has rejected demands to lay down its arms.