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White House Faces Pressure to Intervene Effectively in Yemeni Crisis

Joe Biden speaks during a campaign stop in Detroit, Michigan, March 9. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Joe Biden speaks during a campaign stop in Detroit, Michigan, March 9. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
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White House Faces Pressure to Intervene Effectively in Yemeni Crisis

Joe Biden speaks during a campaign stop in Detroit, Michigan, March 9. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Joe Biden speaks during a campaign stop in Detroit, Michigan, March 9. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Progressive legislators have put the Biden administration under pressure to work harder on resolving the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, where suffering continues to grip the lives of millions enduring the violent upshot of a nationwide coup launched by Houthi militias in 2014.

Criticism is building up despite White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki having reassured US media that resolving the humanitarian crisis and achieving a ceasefire in Yemen topped the list of priorities of Washington’s special envoy for the war-torn country.

According to Psaki, US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking is expected to discuss humanitarian relief efforts, achieving a ceasefire, and many other key topics with UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths in his latest trip to the Middle East.

“A handful of progressive legislators gathered in the Situation Room early Wednesday with national security adviser Jake Sullivan to discuss the war in Yemen,” reported US news website Axios.

Those who met Sullivan included Representative Ro Khanna and Senator Bernie Sanders, multiple sources familiar with the meeting confirmed to Axios, adding that they also spoke by phone this week with Lenderking.

“We’re not going to comment on individual meetings, but we regularly engage with lawmakers on progress towards our commitment to ending the catastrophic war in Yemen,” said National Security Council Spokeswoman Emily Horne, signaling the administration’s willingness to take the legislators’ concerns seriously.

State Department Spokesman Ned Price, for his part, told reporters on Thursday that a senior inter-agency delegation will be traveling over the coming week to discuss several important matters related to US national security and ongoing efforts to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East.

However, Price stressed that the delegation is not focused on any one issue, especially not Iran.

“Lenderking is, as of today, in Saudi Arabia. He’ll also travel to Oman on this trip. He’s meeting with senior government officials and is always working closely with the UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths as part of this,” noted Price.

He added that Lenderking’s discussions are centered around ensuring the regular and unimpeded delivery of commodities and humanitarian assistance throughout Yemen, promoting a lasting ceasefire, and advancing that political process.

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Arab World

Israeli Military Kills 15-year-old Palestinian in West Bank

File: Palestinian Territories, Nablus: A view of a damaged vehicle following an attack by Jewish settlers, who also wrote Hebrew slogans on the walls of houses in the village of Deir al-Hatab, east of Nablus in the West Bank. Photo: Mohammed Nasser/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
File: Palestinian Territories, Nablus: A view of a damaged vehicle following an attack by Jewish settlers, who also wrote Hebrew slogans on the walls of houses in the village of Deir al-Hatab, east of Nablus in the West Bank. Photo: Mohammed Nasser/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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Israeli Military Kills 15-year-old Palestinian in West Bank

File: Palestinian Territories, Nablus: A view of a damaged vehicle following an attack by Jewish settlers, who also wrote Hebrew slogans on the walls of houses in the village of Deir al-Hatab, east of Nablus in the West Bank. Photo: Mohammed Nasser/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
File: Palestinian Territories, Nablus: A view of a damaged vehicle following an attack by Jewish settlers, who also wrote Hebrew slogans on the walls of houses in the village of Deir al-Hatab, east of Nablus in the West Bank. Photo: Mohammed Nasser/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

The Israeli military killed a 15-year-old Palestinian boy near Bethlehem late on Friday, according to the Palestinian health ministry, as violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank surges.

The Palestinian health ministry said in a statement that the 15-year-old boy had died after arriving at the hospital in a critical condition with a gunshot wound to the abdomen, according to Reuters.

The boy had been shot in the Dheisheh camp during an Israeli military raid, the Palestinian WAFA state news agency reported.

The Israeli military said a Palestinian was killed after soldiers opened fire during what it described as a "violent riot" in which stones were thrown at soldiers near Bethlehem. The statement did not identify the Palestinian killed or specify why Israeli forces were in the area.

It was the third reported Palestinian killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces on Friday. The WAFA earlier on Friday reported that two Palestinian men had been shot dead by Israeli forces.

The West Bank has seen a surge in violence since October 2023 when Hamas carried out its deadly attack on Israel from Gaza.

Since then, the military has tightened restrictions on Palestinian movement in the West Bank, and launched raids that have displaced entire communities, while violence perpetrated by Israeli settlers against Palestinians has increased.

Arab World

Baghdad Orders Probe after Drone Targets Kurdistan President’s Home

File Photo: President of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani - AFP
File Photo: President of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani - AFP
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Baghdad Orders Probe after Drone Targets Kurdistan President’s Home

File Photo: President of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani - AFP
File Photo: President of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani - AFP

A drone attack targeted the home of the president of Iraq's Kurdistan Region early on Saturday, security sources said, in an incident that comes as tensions continue to rise across northern Iraq.

Air defences also shot down a drone near a Peshmerga fighters’ base in Duhok, the sources added.

The strikes come amid a surge in attacks on both Iran-aligned militias and Kurdish forces as the US-Israeli war against Iran spills over into Iraq, drawing in multiple armed groups and straining Baghdad’s efforts to contain the fallout.

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani condemned the attack on Kurdish President Nechirvan Barzani’s home and spoke with him by phone, his office said.

Sudani ordered the creation of a joint federal-Kurdistan security and technical team to investigate the incidents and identify those responsible, the statement added.

Iraq's military accused the US and Israel of carrying out some of the airstrikes on the PMF.

Tehran-backed armed groups have also launched attacks on US bases in Iraq and the US embassy.

Arab World

Israeli Strike Kills Three Lebanese Journalists

Journalists Ali Shaib and reporter Fatima Ftouni (National News Agency)
Journalists Ali Shaib and reporter Fatima Ftouni (National News Agency)
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Israeli Strike Kills Three Lebanese Journalists

Journalists Ali Shaib and reporter Fatima Ftouni (National News Agency)
Journalists Ali Shaib and reporter Fatima Ftouni (National News Agency)

An Israeli strike on a car in southern Lebanon has killed three Lebanese journalists, Reuters reported.

Al Manar reporter Ali Shaib and reporter Fatima Ftouni, from broadcaster Al Mayadeen, were killed when their vehicle was hit. Ftouni's brother, cameraman Mohammed Ftouni, had also been killed in the strike.

The Israeli military said in a statement it had "eliminated" Shaib, whom it described as a "terrorist" in a Hezbollah intelligence unit who had reported on the locations of Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon. It accused him of "incitement" against Israeli soldiers and civilians.

The military's statement made no mention of any other deaths and provided no evidence to support the assertion that Shaib was a member of Hezbollah.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun described them in a statement on X as "civilians doing their professional duty."

"It is a brazen crime that violates all treaties and norms through which journalists enjoy international protection in war," he said.

For his part, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam also stressed that “targeting journalists constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and a clear breach of the rules that guarantee the protection of journalists in times of war.”

He said: “Lebanon, which holds press freedom and its role in high regard, affirms its commitment to protecting journalists and calls for respect for international law, the safeguarding of civilian lives, and an end to Israeli attacks targeting them.”

Also, Information Minister Paul Morcos said that “the targeting of journalists is repeated and deliberate,” and that what occurred “constitutes a documented war crime against the media and the journalistic mission.”

He added that the incident “adds to a growing record of attacks targeting media outlets and journalists,” noting that Lebanon has submitted to the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, a detailed list of assaults against journalists as well as health and medical personnel.