Houthis Block 35 Humanitarian Initiatives, Arrest Dozens of Volunteers in Yemen

A Yemeni walks through a pedestrian bridge in front of historic buildings in the old city of Sanaa, Yemen. (EPA)
A Yemeni walks through a pedestrian bridge in front of historic buildings in the old city of Sanaa, Yemen. (EPA)
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Houthis Block 35 Humanitarian Initiatives, Arrest Dozens of Volunteers in Yemen

A Yemeni walks through a pedestrian bridge in front of historic buildings in the old city of Sanaa, Yemen. (EPA)
A Yemeni walks through a pedestrian bridge in front of historic buildings in the old city of Sanaa, Yemen. (EPA)

The Houthis in Yemen are repressing dozens of Ramadan-inspired charity campaigns while completely disregarding poverty and famine levels hitting unprecedented highs in areas run by the Iran-backed militias.

Youth and volunteer campaigns taking place in government-controlled parts of Yemen, the war-torn country’s poor.

Since the start of Ramadan in mid-April, Houthis have suspended 35 volunteer humanitarian initiatives that planned to help out thousands of poverty-stricken Yemenis living in areas run by the militias, Sanaa-based human rights sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

About two weeks ago, the Houthis deployed scouts in Sanaa neighborhoods and other cities they control to monitor youth initiatives that provide aid to some of the poorest families there, they said.

Militias arrested dozens of young men and women who were delivering aid to the destitute in Sanaa and its countryside and in the cities of Ibb, Dhamar, Hajjah, Taiz, Mahwit and Amran, sources added, noting that those apprehended were held in militia detention centers.

“Last Monday, Houthi gunmen prevented activists from distributing food to more than 100 needy families in separate neighborhoods in Sanaa,” a local volunteer, who was threatened by the militias, told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the volunteer voiced his anger at Houthi efforts to block charities that are trying to “put a smile on the faces of the poor and needy and relieve some of their pain and deprivation.”

Moreover, the militias appropriated cash, food, blankets, clothes, sewing machines and rainproof tents that were bound for some of the country’s neediest families.

Sources reported that the seizure of the different forms of aid took place in large quantities, pointing out that the Houthis reroute the assistance to reach members involved in its war effort.



Israeli Troops Expand 'Security Zone' in Northern Gaza

A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising above destroyed buildings in the southern part of the Palestinian territory  on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising above destroyed buildings in the southern part of the Palestinian territory on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
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Israeli Troops Expand 'Security Zone' in Northern Gaza

A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising above destroyed buildings in the southern part of the Palestinian territory  on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising above destroyed buildings in the southern part of the Palestinian territory on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)

Israeli troops moved into an area of northern Gaza to expand what they call a security zone around the edge of the enclave, the military said on Friday, days after the government announced plans to seize large areas with an operation in the south.

Soldiers carrying out the operation in Shejaia, a suburb east of Gaza City in the north, were letting civilians out via organized routes, the military said in a statement.

Israel issued evacuation warnings in the area on Thursday, and hundreds of residents streamed out, some carrying their belongings as they walked, others on donkey carts and bikes or in vans, reported Reuters.

Gaza health authorities said Israeli forces killed at least 27 people, including women and children, in an airstrike on a school building in Gaza City where displaced families were sheltering.

The military said the Dar Al-Arqam school building in Tuffah neighborhood in Gaza City had been used a command and control center by Hamas militants and accused the fighters of deliberately using civilian infrastructure as bases. Hamas denies that it operates among civilians.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been fleeing their homes in recent days in one of the biggest mass exoduses of the war, as Israeli forces have moved to expand the territory under their control.

On the southern edge of Gaza, Israeli troops have been consolidating around the ruins of the city of Rafah.

Israel has not fully explained its long-term aim for the areas it is now seizing as a security zone. Gaza residents say they believe the aim is to permanently depopulate swathes of land, including some of Gaza's last farmland and water infrastructure.

The military said it had killed numerous militants and dismantled infrastructure, including what it said was a Hamas command and control center.

Palestinians say Israel's ultimate aim is to displace Gaza's population permanently, in line with a plan announced by US President Donald Trump to turn the enclave into a waterfront resort under US control. Israel says it would encourage Palestinians who wish to leave voluntarily.

Israeli troops resumed their operation in Gaza on March 18, following a two-month truce. Ministers have said the operation will continue until 59 hostages still held in Gaza are returned. Hamas says it will free them only under a deal that brings a permanent end to the war.

The war began when Hamas fighters stormed into Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and capturing more than 250 hostages, by Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel has reduced much of Gaza to ruins and killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave's health authorities.