Houthis Loot Hodeidah’s Billions, Leave Residents Without Electricity

Hodeidah port, Yemen (AFP)
Hodeidah port, Yemen (AFP)
TT
20

Houthis Loot Hodeidah’s Billions, Leave Residents Without Electricity

Hodeidah port, Yemen (AFP)
Hodeidah port, Yemen (AFP)

Millions of Yemenis living in the Houthi-run Hodeidah governorate, which is experiencing long power outages and soaring temperatures, are experiencing miserable living and humanitarian conditions.

Severe heat waves are striking Hodeidah at a time when power cuts have reached more than 22 hours a day for the city's residents. Prominent Houthi leaders have been accused of looting about 21 billion riyals that were earmarked for electricity subsidies.

Yemenis said the Houthis, who have generated billions of Yemeni riyals in revenue from oil tankers entering Hodeidah’s port, were spending little to no money on addressing the intensifying power cuts or other basic services in the city.

Hodeidah residents reported that their suffering during this year’s summer heat was aggravated by the Houthi electricity cuts. The worsening situation is especially affecting the elderly and those with chronic diseases.

Residents talked about most families leaving their homes involuntarily and living temporarily in some streets and under trees to escape high temperatures.

Using the hashtag #Hodeidahisdying, people posted images of half-dressed men and children sleeping outdoors or on the roofs of their houses to escape the heat.

Activists accused the Houthi-appointed Hodeidah Governor Muhammad Qahim of being behind the looting of the Electricity Support Fund after handing over its management to the Houthi leader, Abdul Ghani al-Madani, in exchange for 60 million riyals he receives per month.

Residents in Hodeidah and officials said that looted money was transferred to Sanaa to fuel the Houthis’ military operations, leaving people in Hodeidah battling long power cuts during the hot weather.

Residents said electricity was available for three hours a day and the widespread cuts had affected all sectors, including hospitals where patients were dying due to the lack of air conditioning.



Egypt Says Israel-EU Agreement Has Not Increased Aid to Gaza

Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Badr Abdelatty arrives for a meeting of Palestinian and Israeli foreign ministers on the sidelines of the EU-Southern Neighborhood Ministerial Meeting at the EU Council in Brussels, Belgium, 14 July 2025. (EPA)
Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Badr Abdelatty arrives for a meeting of Palestinian and Israeli foreign ministers on the sidelines of the EU-Southern Neighborhood Ministerial Meeting at the EU Council in Brussels, Belgium, 14 July 2025. (EPA)
TT
20

Egypt Says Israel-EU Agreement Has Not Increased Aid to Gaza

Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Badr Abdelatty arrives for a meeting of Palestinian and Israeli foreign ministers on the sidelines of the EU-Southern Neighborhood Ministerial Meeting at the EU Council in Brussels, Belgium, 14 July 2025. (EPA)
Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Badr Abdelatty arrives for a meeting of Palestinian and Israeli foreign ministers on the sidelines of the EU-Southern Neighborhood Ministerial Meeting at the EU Council in Brussels, Belgium, 14 July 2025. (EPA)

Egypt's foreign minister said on Monday that the flow of aid into Gaza has not increased despite an agreement last week between Israel and the European Union that should have had that result.

"Nothing has changed (on the ground)," Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told reporters ahead of the EU-Middle East meeting in Brussels on Monday.

The EU's top diplomat said on Thursday that the bloc and Israel agreed to improve Gaza's humanitarian situation, including increasing the number of aid trucks and opening crossing points and aid routes.

Asked what steps Israel has taken, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar referred to an understanding with the EU but did not provide details on implementation.

Asked if there were improvements after the agreement, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told reporters that the situation in Gaza remains "catastrophic".

"There is a real catastrophe happening in Gaza resulting from the continuation of the Israeli siege," he said.

Safadi said Israel allowed the entry of 40 to 50 trucks days ago from Jordan but that was "far from being sufficient" for the besieged enclave.

EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said ahead of Monday's meeting that there have been some signs of progress on Gaza aid but not enough improvement on the ground.

Israel's continued military operations and blockade have left the entire population of 2.3 million people in Gaza facing acute food insecurity, with nearly half a million at risk of famine by the end of September, a joint United Nations report said last month.