Hadi Affirms Keenness to Support Yemen’s Unity

Yemeni President Abd Rabu Mansur Hadi (Saba news)
Yemeni President Abd Rabu Mansur Hadi (Saba news)
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Hadi Affirms Keenness to Support Yemen’s Unity

Yemeni President Abd Rabu Mansur Hadi (Saba news)
Yemeni President Abd Rabu Mansur Hadi (Saba news)

Yemeni President Abd Rabu Mansur Hadi asserted the importance of national unity, calling upon the political elite to focus on confronting the Iranian agenda and its Houthi proxies.

This came during his speech marking the 31st Anniversary of the National Unity Day on May 22.

In his remarks, Hadi condemned the Houthi militia group, saying this year’s celebrations come amid difficult circumstances and challenges at various levels, namely the coup against the state and the war imposed by Iran-backed militias.

The president addressed the Houthi attack on the Marib governorate launched more than a year ago, saying it reflects the group’s “sick mentality.”

The Houthi militias are trying to impose their rules, goals, and false beliefs on the people through force majeure, blood, and destruction, he indicated.

Hadi stressed that the Unity National Day is an opportunity to unify the country under the national cause, calling upon all members of the society as well as political, social, media, and cultural institutions to join efforts that aim to preserve national constants and confront the Iranian agenda along with advocates of sedition and wars.

He also condemned the southern forces, without naming them, saying they want to spread hatred and strife by calling for the separation.

“We believe that Yemeni unity is a noble goal” asserted Hadi, indicating that the federal-state project included in the outcomes of the National Dialogue Conference has laid the foundations for a correct path that guarantees rights and partnership and establishes a stable and secure future.

He confirmed that the federal state meets the aspirations of Yemenis and sets them on the path to a safe and stable future away from conflicts, divisions, and marginalization.

Victory over Houthis will soon be achieved, reiterated the president, noting that he directed the government to establish security, activate state institutions, and restore services such as electricity, water, and education.

The Yemeni president criticized the attempts to obstruct the government, including the deliberate incitement and systematic disruption of its work.

“We reiterate the need to carry out its responsibilities in complementarity with the local authorities and overcome all obstacles," said the president.



Israel Halts Aid, Official Says, as Gazan Clans Deny Hamas is Stealing It

Palestinians struggle to receive cooked food distributed at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians struggle to receive cooked food distributed at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP)
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Israel Halts Aid, Official Says, as Gazan Clans Deny Hamas is Stealing It

Palestinians struggle to receive cooked food distributed at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians struggle to receive cooked food distributed at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP)

Israel has halted aid supplies to Gaza for two days to prevent them being seized by Hamas, an official said on Thursday after images circulated of masked men on aid trucks whom clan leaders said were protecting aid, not diverting it to the militants.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a joint statement with Defense Minister Israel Katz, said late on Wednesday that he had ordered the military to present a plan within two days to prevent Hamas from taking control of aid.

The decision was made after Netanyahu and Katz cited new information indicating that Hamas was seizing aid intended for civilians in northern Gaza. The statement did not disclose the information but a video circulating on Wednesday showed dozens of masked men, some armed with rifles but most carrying sticks, riding on aid trucks

An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that aid deliveries had been temporarily suspended for two days to allow the military time to develop a new plan.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli prime minister's office, the defense ministry or the Israeli military.

The Higher Commission for Tribal Affairs, which represents influential clans in the territory, said that trucks had been protected as part of an aid security process managed "solely through tribal efforts". The commission said that no Palestinian faction, a reference to Hamas, had taken part in the process.

Hamas, the militant group that has ruled Gaza for more than two decades but now controls only parts of the territory after nearly two years of war with Israel, denied any involvement.

Throughout the war, numerous clans, civil society groups and factions - including Hamas' secular political rival Fatah - have stepped in to help provide security for the aid convoys.

Clans made up of extended families connected through blood and marriage have long been a fundamental part of Gazan society.

ACUTE SHORTAGE

Amjad al-Shawa, director of an umbrella body for Palestinian non-governmental organisations, said the aid protected by clans on Wednesday was being distributed to vulnerable families.

There is an acute shortage of food and other basic supplies after the nearly two-year military campaign by Israel that has displaced most of Gaza's two million inhabitants.

Aid trucks and warehouses storing supplies have often been looted, frequently by desperate and starving Palestinians. Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid for its own fighters or to sell to finance its operations, an accusation Hamas denies.

"The clans came ... to form a stance to prevent the aggressors and the thieves from stealing the food that belongs to our people," Abu Salman Al Moghani, a representative of Gazan clans, said, referring to Wednesday's operation.

The Wednesday video was shared on X by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who claimed that Hamas had taken control of aid allowed into Gaza by the Israeli government. Bennett is widely seen as the most viable challenger to Netanyahu at the next election.

Netanyahu has also faced pressure from within his right-wing coalition, with some hardline members threatening to quit over ceasefire negotiations and the delivery of humanitarian aid.

The war began when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

In response, Israel launched a military campaign that has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians, according to local health authorities in Gaza.

At least 103 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire over the past 24 hours, local health authorities said, including some shot near an aid distribution point, the latest in a series of such incidents. The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

Twenty hostages remain in captivity in Gaza, while Hamas is also holding the bodies of 30 who have died.