Yemen Presidential Council Forms Security, Military Committee

UN envoy Grundberg meets with head of the Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi in Aden. (Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen).
UN envoy Grundberg meets with head of the Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi in Aden. (Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen).
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Yemen Presidential Council Forms Security, Military Committee

UN envoy Grundberg meets with head of the Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi in Aden. (Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen).
UN envoy Grundberg meets with head of the Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi in Aden. (Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen).

The Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council announced on Monday the formation of a joint security and military committee.

Veteran military official Haitham Qassem Taher was named as head of the 59-member committee.

The formation of the body is part of the Council's efforts to consolidate its authority and efforts to unify the army and security forces.

Official sources added that the PLC also agreed to restructure the armed and security forces in line with the declaration of the transition of power in the country.

The Saba news agency said the meeting was chaired by PLC Chairman Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi and other members of the council.

The sources added that the PLC agreed to form a committee that would assess and restructure the intelligence agencies.

The members stressed the importance of these committees in carrying out their duties to achieve security and stability and unify the armed and security forces under one national command.

This would boost the battle of restoring the state and protect the current national consensus, with the support of the Arab Coalition, led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Yemenis are hoping that the security and military committee would be a changing point in that it would unify the military and security forces, which would consolidate the ability of the legitimate forces in confronting the Houthi coup and unite national forces that are keen on restoring the state and liberating the capital Sanaa from the militias.

Meanwhile, the legitimate government warned that the ongoing nationwide truce was on the verge of collapse due to the intransigence of the Iran-backed Houthi militias. The truce is set to expire on Thursday.

United Nations envoy Hans Grundberg pledged on Monday to extend the truce.

He held talks with Al-Alimi, members of the PLC and Foreign Minister Ahmed bin Mubarak in the interim capital Aden.

The UN office in Yemen tweeted that the meeting focused on re-opening roads in Taiz, which under a years-long siege by the Houthis, and renewing the truce.

"Discussions focused on the need to deliver results for civilians in Taiz and across Yemen. Grundberg noted that renewing the truce is critical to solidify benefits delivered so far and provide space to move towards a political settlement," it added.

The representative of the warring parties met for three days in the Jordanian capital Amman last week to discuss ending the siege.

They failed to reach an agreement with the Houthis rejecting the government delegation's proposal to open the main roads.

Lifting the siege was among the articles of the truce. The question of the blockaded city is key to extending the ceasefire.

Grundberg said a proposal had been floated in what he described as "an initial round of discussions" for a phased reopening of roads in Taiz and elsewhere, which would help facilitate aid deliveries and the movement of suffering Yemenis.

The representatives agreed to hold a follow up meeting.

Bin Mubarak informed Grundberg on Monday that the government was keen on ensuring the success of the truce to ease the suffering of the people.

He accused the Houthis of committing violations and stalling, complicating efforts to end the Taiz siege.

He expressed the PLC's commitment to exercise restraint to ensure that the truce holds, demanding that the envoy and international community pressure the Houthis and guarantee that all articles of the truce are implemented.

The sources said Grundberg hailed the government's position and keenness on respecting the truce to ease the people's suffering.

He stressed that lifting the siege was at the top of his priorities and that he is keen on extending the truce.



Tributes Paid to Lebanon Conservationist Killed in Israeli Strike

Mona Khalil in 2004 with a newborn marine turtle near her home in Lebanon. Photograph: Joseph Barrak/AFP/Getty Images
Mona Khalil in 2004 with a newborn marine turtle near her home in Lebanon. Photograph: Joseph Barrak/AFP/Getty Images
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Tributes Paid to Lebanon Conservationist Killed in Israeli Strike

Mona Khalil in 2004 with a newborn marine turtle near her home in Lebanon. Photograph: Joseph Barrak/AFP/Getty Images
Mona Khalil in 2004 with a newborn marine turtle near her home in Lebanon. Photograph: Joseph Barrak/AFP/Getty Images

Activists and campaign groups on Saturday paid tribute to Lebanese environmentalist Mona Khalil who died from injuries sustained in an Israeli strike in the country's south, where she dedicated her life to turtle conservation for decades.

A medical source had previously told AFP that Khalil, aged in her late seventies, was badly wounded in an Israeli strike on June 4 that hit her home in the village of Mansouri, around 10 kilometres (six miles) south of the coastal city of Tyre. She died on Friday.

Julien Jreissati, program director at Greenpeace Middle East and North Africa, said Khalil had "dedicated decades of her life to protecting the sea turtles and coastline of Mansouri".

"Her loss is not only a loss for her family and community, but for the environmental movement in Lebanon and the region," he told AFP.

A wide stretch of south Lebanon's coastline near Tyre, which includes some of the country's best-preserved beaches, is a nesting site for turtles, including endangered loggerhead and green sea turtles.

After returning to her native Lebanon from the Netherlands more than two decades ago, Khalil set up the Orange House Project in Mansouri, a conservation project combined with ecotourism, where visitors could see turtle hatchings and take part in conservation activities.

"For decades, Mona stood at the forefront of conservation efforts along the southern coast," said the Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon (SPNL), mourning "one of Lebanon's most dedicated environmental defenders and a tireless champion of sea turtle conservation".

Her efforts contributed "significantly to the protection of one of Lebanon's most important sea turtle nesting sites in Hima Qoleileh-Mansouri, a seven-kilometre stretch of sandy and rocky shoreline that hosts more than 58 endangered sea turtle nests annually", it said.

Khalil inspired communities and "helped build a culture of environmental stewardship rooted in local ownership and collective responsibility", it added in a statement on Friday.

Local environmental group Green Southerners on X mourned "a pioneering environmental defender" who for decades "dedicated her life to protecting endangered sea turtles and their nesting habitats".

"Through the Orange House, she inspired generations of Lebanese to value and protect their natural heritage and coastal ecosystems," it added.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) had been reporting heavy strikes in the Tyre district, including raids on Mansouri, earlier this month when Khalil was wounded.

The village is also located near an area where Israeli troops are operating inside south Lebanon.

Khalil was among the few local residents still holding out there despite the Israel-Hezbollah war and sweeping Israeli military evacuation orders for the country's south.


Israel Carries Out Deadly Strikes in South Lebanon Despite Truce Announced with Hezbollah

Smoke billows from southern Lebanon following an Israeli strike, as seen from Nabatieh, Lebanon, June 20, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer       TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Smoke billows from southern Lebanon following an Israeli strike, as seen from Nabatieh, Lebanon, June 20, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
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Israel Carries Out Deadly Strikes in South Lebanon Despite Truce Announced with Hezbollah

Smoke billows from southern Lebanon following an Israeli strike, as seen from Nabatieh, Lebanon, June 20, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer       TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Smoke billows from southern Lebanon following an Israeli strike, as seen from Nabatieh, Lebanon, June 20, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Israel carried out deadly strikes in south Lebanon on Saturday, hours after the US announced a renewed ceasefire in fighting that had strained a fledgling deal with Iran.

US President Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian this week signed a preliminary agreement to halt the Middle East war on all fronts, including Lebanon -- a key demand of Tehran's.

But follow-up talks scheduled for Friday in Switzerland were indefinitely postponed as Israel launched a wave of strikes in Lebanon that left dozens of people dead after four of its soldiers were killed in combat, sparking a furious reaction at home.

On Friday afternoon, a US official announced a new ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah brokered by US and Qatari mediators, with Israel's ambassador to Washington saying it would respect the truce if Hezbollah did.

But on Saturday an Israeli military official said it was conducting fresh attacks against the Iran-backed movement, which it accused of having "launched more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon" overnight.

Lebanese state media reported Israeli air raids on around 20 locations, with the country's civil defense agency saying 16 people were killed in the Nabatieh area.

The Lebanese army said an Israeli strike killed a soldier on the Kfarrumman-Nabatieh road and accused Israel of undermining efforts to restore stability.

Israel's Arabic-language military spokesperson said calm could be achieved if Hezbollah halted what she described as hostile activity and violations of agreements, adding Israel's presence in a security zone aimed to remove threats and dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure, not harm civilians.

The US-Iran understanding announced this week calls for an immediate, permanent end to military operations by the parties and their allies across multiple fronts, including Lebanon.

Israel, which was not part of those negotiations, has opposed provisions it says could constrain its campaign in Lebanon.


Gaza Health Officials Say Israeli Strikes Kill Five

Palestinians inspect a destroyed vehicle following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, 18 June 2026. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
Palestinians inspect a destroyed vehicle following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, 18 June 2026. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
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Gaza Health Officials Say Israeli Strikes Kill Five

Palestinians inspect a destroyed vehicle following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, 18 June 2026. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
Palestinians inspect a destroyed vehicle following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, 18 June 2026. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER

Gaza health officials said Israeli strikes on Saturday killed five people, including four members of the same family, in the latest violence to rock the Palestinian territory despite a ceasefire.

Israel and Hamas trade near-daily accusations of truce violations and the Gaza Strip remains gripped by bloodshed as progress on permanently ending the war remains stalled.

An overnight Israeli airstrike on an apartment building in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City killed four members of the al-Safadi family, including the husband, wife and their two daughters, said the civil defense agency, a rescue service that operates under Hamas authority.

AFP quoted it as saying that the strike also injured 12 others.

Gaza City's Al-Shifa hospital confirmed receiving the bodies of four members of the al-Safadi family, including two children.

The hospital also said it had received another body following a separate Israeli drone strike near an intersection in the north of Gaza City.

When asked by AFP about the two incidents, the Israeli military did not offer an immediate response.

At least 1,012 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect on October 10 last year, according to Gaza's health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.

The Israeli army has reported five deaths in its ranks during the same period.

Restrictions imposed on media outlets and limited access in Gaza prevent AFP from independently verifying tolls or freely covering the violence there.