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Food Security Improves for Yemenis

One of the displaced persons camp to which Yemenis fled to escape the oppression of the Houthis (Twitter)
One of the displaced persons camp to which Yemenis fled to escape the oppression of the Houthis (Twitter)
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Food Security Improves for Yemenis

One of the displaced persons camp to which Yemenis fled to escape the oppression of the Houthis (Twitter)
One of the displaced persons camp to which Yemenis fled to escape the oppression of the Houthis (Twitter)

A recent report by the World Food Program (WFP) painted a different picture for food security in Yemen. The organization predicted that the food security outlook until the beginning of 2023 will not be as bleak as it was in the past.

The WFP based its projection on the latest rates of food consumption in September, which showed that malnutrition decreased nationwide in Yemen after having increased during the previous four months.

The food-assistance branch of the UN clarified that the early warnings report for the period from October 2022 to January 2023 indicates that the food security outlook in Yemen is not likely to be as bleak as previously expected.

It revealed that its outlook for hunger in the war-torn nation is currently being updated with another revised analysis to be issued at the end of this month.

According to the latest food security data of the WFP, the prevalence of insufficient food consumption nationwide decreased slightly in September after increasing for four consecutive months.

Despite the improvement, more than half of Yemeni families reported inadequate food consumption, with hunger rates soaring in 16 out of 22 governorates.

According to the report, funding shortfalls have put the most critical humanitarian interventions at risk of being scaled back or shut down completely.

As of late September, the Food Security and Agriculture Cluster of the 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan was only 49% funded, and the Nutrition, Health, and WASH clusters were 32%, 64%, and 23% funded, respectively.

These clusters provide services that help prevent and treat acute malnutrition, including by supporting sanitation and health.

With recent flooding causing damage to water and sanitation systems --- likely increasing the risk of waterborne diseases --- reductions in access to health services will likely render households more vulnerable to the physiological impacts of concurrent high levels of acute food insecurity and contribute to increased rates of acute malnutrition in many areas.

In Marib, over 258,000 individuals will be left without healthcare in September 2022. Meanwhile, though WFP's school-feeding program resumed with the start of the new term in late July/early August, only around one third of the originally planned 1.9 million children will be reached in the current semester due to funding shortfalls.

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Lebanon Arrests ‘Parent Group’ Behind Rocket Launches toward Israel

Lebanese Army soldiers search a car at a checkpoint. (Directorate of Guidance) 
Lebanese Army soldiers search a car at a checkpoint. (Directorate of Guidance) 
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Lebanon Arrests ‘Parent Group’ Behind Rocket Launches toward Israel

Lebanese Army soldiers search a car at a checkpoint. (Directorate of Guidance) 
Lebanese Army soldiers search a car at a checkpoint. (Directorate of Guidance) 

The Lebanese Army has arrested members of what is believed to be the “parent group” behind recent rocket launches toward Israel, security sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The group was apprehended by Military Intelligence in a raid as they were preparing to fire rockets from southern Lebanon, in what appears to be part of a larger, coordinated campaign.

According to investigators, the detainees confessed to carrying out two rocket attacks in March—one launched from the area between Kfartebnit and Arnoun, and the second from Qaaqaiyat al-Jisr, both in the Nabatieh district. The projectiles were intercepted by Israeli defenses before reaching their intended targets in Metula and Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel.

The army announced Sunday that it had seized a number of rockets and launchers in a raid on an apartment in the Sidon-Zahrani area, and arrested several individuals involved in the planned operation. The military said the bust followed extensive surveillance and intelligence-gathering.

Security sources said the volume of weapons recovered suggests a larger logistical operation designed to supply multiple attacks. The cache included enough rockets and launch platforms to sustain repeated launches, rather than a single strike. The weapons were found stored in a residential area in the town of Aqtnit, in the Zahrani region near Sidon.

Investigators believe the cell is part of a broader Palestinian network operating in the South. The arrests were reportedly aided by information obtained from earlier detainees and ongoing surveillance. The sources confirmed that the suspects are now under questioning, with investigations being conducted under judicial supervision.

Following the March attacks, army units intensified security operations in areas north of the Litani River and ramped up monitoring of Palestinian camps, particularly Ain al-Hilweh and Rashidieh. Access to and from the camps has been placed under tighter scrutiny. The Lebanese Army is also said to be cooperating with Hezbollah in some areas, particularly along the southern frontier.

Military sources emphasized that the army’s actions reflect Lebanon’s continued commitment to implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which calls for the disarmament of all non-state actors south of the Litani and reserves military authority to the state.

The arrest operation has been met with praise from Lebanese political and military circles, who see it as a reaffirmation of the state’s authority and a message to the international community that Lebanon remains committed to preventing escalation with Israel.