UN Envoy in Sanaa to Persuade Houthis on Ending Taiz Siege

UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg (3rd R) arrives in Yemen's capital of Sanaa, EPA
UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg (3rd R) arrives in Yemen's capital of Sanaa, EPA
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UN Envoy in Sanaa to Persuade Houthis on Ending Taiz Siege

UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg (3rd R) arrives in Yemen's capital of Sanaa, EPA
UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg (3rd R) arrives in Yemen's capital of Sanaa, EPA

UN Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg arrived on Wednesday in Sanaa to convince Houthi leaders of his proposal to lift the siege on Taiz and open some roads between the governorates.

Earlier, Yemeni government officials and Houthi putschists tried to resolve the Taiz file in two rounds of talks in the Jordanian capital, Amman, yet with no avail.

Fears are growing that Houthi intransigence in this file will lead to torpedoing the existing UN-sponsored truce that was extended to August 2.

Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi on Wednesday threatened during his meeting with coup loyalists from Taiz to resume fighting to control the liberated areas under the control of the Yemeni government.

For his part, Grundberg said he would meet the rebel leadership to discuss proposals for reopening roads into Taiz, Yemen’s third biggest city which has been largely cut off since 2015.

“I hope we will have constructive discussions on our proposal for reopening roads in Taiz and other governorates, as well as economic and humanitarian measures and the way forward,” said Grundberg upon arriving in Sanaa.

“Yemenis have seen the truce’s tangible benefits. We have witnessed a significant positive shift and we have a responsibility to safeguard it and deliver on its potential for peace in Yemen,” he told reporters.

Holding talks on Taiz was one of the terms of the truce, along with resuming commercial flights out of Sana’a and allowing fuel ships into the lifeline port of Hodeida, which is also in Houthi hands.

Grundberg hailed the truce extension, calling it a “positive signal of the parties’ seriousness to uphold and implement the truce.”

Taiz has been under siege since the civil war erupted in Yemen in late 2014. Lifting the blockade would facilitate the movement of citizens and their access to humanitarian aid.

Residents in Taiz have staged repeated protest rallies to demand the acceleration of lifting the siege and clearing landmines on the main roads around the city.

Ending the Taiz siege is the last major term to be fulfilled under the agreement reached by the country's warring parties as part of their truce that came into force in April.



US State Department Approves $30 Million in Funding for Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

 Palestinians carry humanitarian aid packages near the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution center operated by the US-backed organization in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians carry humanitarian aid packages near the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution center operated by the US-backed organization in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP)
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US State Department Approves $30 Million in Funding for Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

 Palestinians carry humanitarian aid packages near the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution center operated by the US-backed organization in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians carry humanitarian aid packages near the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution center operated by the US-backed organization in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP)

The US State Department has approved $30 million in funding for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the State Department said on Thursday, calling on other countries to also support the controversial group delivering aid in war-torn Gaza.

"This support is simply the latest iteration of President Trump's and Secretary Rubio's pursuit of peace in the region," State Department deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott told reporters at a regular news briefing.

Reuters was first to report the move earlier this week.

Washington has long backed the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation diplomatically, but this is the first known US government financial contribution to the organization, which uses private for-profit US military and logistics firms to transport aid into the Palestinian enclave for distribution at so-called secure sites.

Since Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade on Gaza on May 19, allowing limited UN deliveries to resume, the United Nations says more than 400 Palestinians have been killed seeking aid from both the UN and GHF operations.

Earlier this month, GHF halted aid deliveries for a day as it pressed Israel to boost civilian safety near its distribution sites after dozens of Palestinians seeking aid were killed. It says there have been no incidents at its sites.

The foundation’s executive director, Johnnie Moore, an evangelical preacher who was a White House adviser in the first Trump administration, said in a post on X on Thursday that the group has delivered more than 46 million meals to Gazans since it began its operations in May.

Some US officials opposed giving any US funds to the foundation over concerns about violence near aid distribution sites, the GHF's inexperience and the involvement of the for-profit US logistics and private military firms, four sources told Reuters earlier this week.

The United States could approve additional monthly grants of $30 million for the GHF, two sources said, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity.

In approving the US funding for the GHF, the sources said the State Department exempted the foundation, which has not publicly disclosed its finances, from an audit usually required for groups receiving USAID grants for the first time.

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.