Marib Unrest High on US Yemen Envoy’s List of Priorities

Marib Unrest High on US Yemen Envoy’s List of Priorities
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Marib Unrest High on US Yemen Envoy’s List of Priorities

Marib Unrest High on US Yemen Envoy’s List of Priorities

Having embarked on his third trip to the Middle East since being appointed as Washington’s special envoy for Yemen, Tim Lenderking is pressing for a final settlement that ends the war-torn country’s political deadlock and humanitarian crisis.

Halting the ongoing Houthi military escalation in the oil-rich governorate of Marib, where thousands of refugees have sought safety from violence, currently figures high on his list of priorities.

The US envoy kickstarted his latest tour in the Gulf state of Oman, where he is expected to meet Houthi representatives. UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths has also arrived in the Omani capital, Muscat.

Griffiths and Lenderking had separately met with Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed and Foreign Minister Ahmad Awad bin Mubarak in Riyadh before heading to Oman.

“Yemeni Foreign Minister bin Mubarak and US Envoy to Yemen Lenderking discussed the need to cease the Houthi assault on Marib in order to move to political negotiations, open humanitarian access and end the conflict,” tweeted the State Department’s Near Eastern Affairs bureau.

As for Lenderking’s visit to Oman, State Department Spokesperson Jalina Porter said that it was going to be the envoy’s first stop on a regional trip, but failed to confirm if he had met with Houthi representatives.

Speaking at a press briefing, Porter said that Lenderking was in the region in coordination with Griffiths.

“This is going to be an ongoing joint discussion on our international efforts to promote peace and a lasting ceasefire in Yemen, and again, an inclusive peace agreement as well as to address our efforts of the country’s dire humanitarian crisis,” said Porter.

Savage fighting in the country's north and around the strategic governorate of Marib has thrown up yet another barrier for peace efforts in Yemen and made the delivery of humanitarian aid to the country’s needy very difficult.

A source close to the UN efforts told AFP that the initiative for a ceasefire is effectively on hold until the battle raging outside the city of Marib is won or lost.

The Iran-backed Houthis are throwing everything they have at the fight for the capital of an oil-rich region, sustaining heavy casualties as a price worth paying for the last piece of the north that the government still controls.

The battle is “holding back the negotiations ... because the Houthis want to see how far they can go,” said the source.

“Tragically, and somewhat confusingly for me, it appears that the Houthis are prioritizing a military campaign to take Marib over ... suspending the war and moving relief to the Yemeni people,” it added.



52 Palestinians Including Children Killed in Israeli Airstrikes in Gaza

Palestinians inspect the destruction at a makeshift displacement camp following a reported incursion a day earlier by Israeli tanks in the area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza strip on July 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Palestinians inspect the destruction at a makeshift displacement camp following a reported incursion a day earlier by Israeli tanks in the area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza strip on July 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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52 Palestinians Including Children Killed in Israeli Airstrikes in Gaza

Palestinians inspect the destruction at a makeshift displacement camp following a reported incursion a day earlier by Israeli tanks in the area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza strip on July 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Palestinians inspect the destruction at a makeshift displacement camp following a reported incursion a day earlier by Israeli tanks in the area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza strip on July 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 28 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including four children, hospital officials said Saturday. Also, 24 others were fatally shot on their way to aid distribution sites.

The children and two women were among at least 13 people who were killed in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, after Israeli airstrikes pounded the area starting late Friday, officials in Al-Aqsa Martyr's Hospital said. Another four people were killed in strikes near a fuel station, and 15 others died in Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, according to Nasser Hospital.

The Israeli military said in a statement that over the past 48 hours, troops struck approximately 250 targets in the Gaza Strip, including militants, booby-trapped structures, weapons storage facilities, anti-tank missile launch posts, sniper posts, tunnels and additional Hamas infrastructure sites. The military did not immediately respond to The Associated Press' request for comment on the civilian deaths.

The Hamas-led group killed some 1,200 people in their Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and abducted 251. They still hold 50 hostages, less than half of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel’s offensive has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, which is under Gaza’s Hamas-run government, doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count. The UN and other international organizations see its figures as the most reliable statistics on war casualties.

US President Donald Trump has said that he is closing in on another ceasefire agreement that would see more hostages released and potentially wind down the war. But after two days of talks this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu there were no signs of a breakthrough.