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Bloody Clashes in Jenin Refugee Camp in the Wake of Tel Aviv Attack

Activists set up a Palestinian flag overlooking an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank. (AFP file photo)
Activists set up a Palestinian flag overlooking an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank. (AFP file photo)
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Bloody Clashes in Jenin Refugee Camp in the Wake of Tel Aviv Attack

Activists set up a Palestinian flag overlooking an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank. (AFP file photo)
Activists set up a Palestinian flag overlooking an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank. (AFP file photo)

Israeli security forces shot dead a Palestinian, injured 14 others and arrested wanted people on Saturday in the West Bank refugee camp of Jenin, home of the gunman behind a recent deadly Tel Aviv attack.

The Palestinian killed was identified as Ahmad al-Saadi, 23, who was reportedly a member of al-Quds Brigades (Saraya al-Quds), the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement.

Two of the wounded Palestinians were hit in the abdomen by live bullets, including a 19-year-old girl, and one was hit by shrapnel in the head.

The Israeli army said a military operation was ongoing in the Jenin camp, a stronghold of Palestinian armed factions in the north of the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinians in the camp threw bullets, stones and bottles at Israeli soldiers as violent, bloody and prolonged clashes erupted.

The Israeli army announced in a statement on Saturday the end of its operation, saying that its forces “killed and arrested activists who were planning to carry out offensive operations inside Israel.”

The Hebrew website Ynet quoted an Israeli army spokesman as saying that among the detainees was an activist in the Hamas movement and a gunman from the Islamic Jihad movement.

Saturday’s raid came a day after Israel said it had killed Raad Hazem, 28, the alleged gunman who went on a shooting spree Thursday in a popular nightlife district of Tel Aviv, killing three Israelis and wounding more than a dozen others.

A total of 14 people have been killed in attacks in Israel since March 22. Over the same period, at least 10 Palestinians have been killed.

The operation targeted the arrest of Hazem’s father, Fathi, who refused to turn himself in, along with his three brothers.

Fathi is a former security prisoner who previously served as an officer in the Palestinian Authority’s security services in Jenin. He has refused an Israeli request to be questioned.

On Friday, Fathi praised his son’s actions to a crowd gathered in front of the family home.

He promised people to see the victory and change soon, asserting they will obtain their freedom and independence.

Hazem went on the run after the attack and was found hiding near a mosque in Jaffa after hours long of manhunt involving hundreds of security officers.

While initially raising his hands in surrender, Hazem reportedly then drew a gun and opened fire on the officers, who fired back and killed him.

Dozens of Palestinians attended Saadi’s funeral, while many gunmen vowed to “retaliate his killing.”

The Islamic Jihad group identified the dead man as one of its fighters, warning that and that the occupation will pay dearly for its crimes.

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Arab World

UN Appeal for Aid to Support 10 Million Yemenis

 In Yemen around 3.3 million IDPs are living in family hosting arrangements and rental accommodation (UN)
 In Yemen around 3.3 million IDPs are living in family hosting arrangements and rental accommodation (UN)
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UN Appeal for Aid to Support 10 Million Yemenis

 In Yemen around 3.3 million IDPs are living in family hosting arrangements and rental accommodation (UN)
 In Yemen around 3.3 million IDPs are living in family hosting arrangements and rental accommodation (UN)

The United Nations and partners launched last week the 2025 Yemen Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, seeking urgent humanitarian and protection assistance to more than 10 million Yemenis in need.
In its plan, the UN warned that more than half of the country’s population – 19.5 million people – needs humanitarian assistance and protection services.
The collapse of the Yemeni riyal, now trading at over 2,160 riyals per US dollar in the legitimate government-controlled areas, has significantly worsened living conditions for Yemenis and left authorities struggling to pay public sector salaries for the past four months.
Yemen’s financial crisis further worsened after the Houthi militia suspended oil exports, causing an electricity blackout in Aden, the country's temporary capital, for more than half a day.
In its Yemen Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, the UN appealed for $2.47 billion to provide urgent humanitarian and protection assistance to more than 19.5 million people in need.
Under the 2025 appeal, humanitarians aim to deliver life-saving assistance to 10.5 million of the most vulnerable people in need, Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, Julien Harneis, said.
Despite significant challenges, Harneis said 197 aid organizations reached more than 8 million people with life-saving assistance last year – two-thirds of which were local Yemeni organizations.
This was made possible by the sustained support of donors, who contributed more than $1.4 billion to the 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan.
The Humanitarian Coordinator said much more is needed this year to reduce needs, achieve peace, revive the economy and build the resilience of communities through sustainable development activities.
He noted that climate shocks, increased regional tensions and chronic underfunding of critical humanitarian sectors are further worsening people’s vulnerability and suffering.
This year, more than 17 million people will experience acute food insecurity—almost half the country’s population—with 5 million expected to experience emergency levels of food insecurity.
Moreover, 13.6 million people face challenges to access a water source of sufficient quality to prevent diseases while 40% of Yemen's health facilities are partially functioning or completely out-of-service due to shortages in staff, funding, electricity, medicines and equipment, and infrastructure integrity.
The UN last year requested $2.7 billion for a humanitarian response plan, but received only meager pledges, causing a huge gap in meeting the needs of the targeted population.
Jamal Belfaqih, head of Yemen's Supreme Relief Committee, confirms the numbers of humanitarian needs declared by the United Nations, its agencies and international organizations.
However, Belfaqih said the appeal that agencies request fail to meet their efforts to secure funding.
Also, he said, the UN and its agencies face challenges to reach the targeted population due to a lack of information and demographic changes caused by internal displacement.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Belfaqih said the funds required from donors to finance the humanitarian response plan will probably not be obtained due to a poor promotion of the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
“The relief organizations have not changed their response plan methods since 2015, despite their failure to meet the needs of the Yemenis and to end or reduce the humanitarian crisis,” he said.
In 2025, an estimated 19.5 million people across Yemen need humanitarian assistance and protection services – 1.3 million people more than last year.
An estimated 4.8 million people, most of whom are women and children, remain internally displaced, with repeated displacement trapping families in cycles of dependency on humanitarian assistance.
In a briefing to the Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Yemen, Joyce Msuya, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, said people in Yemen continue to face a severe humanitarian and protection crisis.
Almost half of Yemen’s population – over 17 million people – is unable to meet their basic food needs.
The most marginalized, including women and girls, those displaced and communities such as the Muhamasheen, are the worst affected.
Msuya said almost half of all children under the age of 5 suffer from moderate to severe stunting caused by malnutrition, while cholera is at appalling levels.