Yemen Renews Call for Stronger Int’l Position against Houthi Terrorism

Head of Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) during a meeting with European ambassadors (Saba)
Head of Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) during a meeting with European ambassadors (Saba)
TT

Yemen Renews Call for Stronger Int’l Position against Houthi Terrorism

Head of Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) during a meeting with European ambassadors (Saba)
Head of Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) during a meeting with European ambassadors (Saba)

The Yemeni government renewed its call for stronger international stances against Houthi terrorism and welcomed the latest European Union statement on the coup escalation.

The government issued a statement Tuesday, welcoming the European announcement to increase its humanitarian and development support and interventions for 2022 and 2023, and called on the donor community to double their financial pledges and ensure more effective humanitarian and development work.

The Yemeni statement lauded the Union's appreciation for the constructive approach of the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) and government during the humanitarian truce.

It also welcomed the EU support of the constructive approach of the Yemeni government during the truce and ongoing efforts by regional actors, notably Saudi Arabia and Oman, on the ceasefire extension.

The statement renewed the government's commitment to a just and comprehensive peace under national, regional, and international references.

It also called for serious and responsible engagement with all efforts aimed at alleviating the human suffering of the Yemeni people, achieving their aspirations to restore state institutions, and ending the Houthi coup.

The statement appreciated the EU positions, including the Union's explicit condemnation of the Houthi terrorist attacks on oil installations and infrastructure, warning of their catastrophic repercussions on the humanitarian situation and maritime security.

The EU also reiterated its concern about the proliferation of sophisticated missile and drone technology in the region.

The government indicated that the disturbing violations referred to in the European statement are an approach rooted in the Houthi practices and beliefs, exceeding all organizations and groups classified on European and international terrorist lists, including the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its terrorist militias in the region.

The international community should take a firm stance in classifying the militia as a terrorist organization, said the government, noting that it is a peaceful choice that brings peace, stability, and a better future that all Yemenis deserve.

The Union affirmed, at the level of foreign ministers, in a statement on Monday, its principled commitment to the unity, sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Yemen and supporting UN peace efforts and Special Envoy Hans Grundberg in mediation efforts.

The EU reiterated its strong support for Grundberg and called on the parties to continue engaging constructively with him.

The Union stated that efforts need to be directed towards a sustainable ceasefire and require support for Grundberg's proposals for a three-track framework process to achieve a just and inclusive settlement for the conflict in Yemen, with the whole, meaningful, and equal political participation of women at all levels.

The EU urged the Houthis to abandon maximalist positions, engage constructively with the Special Envoy and stressed the importance of reinstating and extending the truce further.

It called on the Houthis to heed the UN envoy's call for calm and restraint while negotiations continue to renew and extend the truce, reiterating that "all attacks must stop."

The statement warned that attacks or threats of attacks on civilian infrastructures, such as oil company installations and commercial shipping operating in the region, are "unacceptable," including with a view to the importance of maritime security.

The UN Security Council, which embodies the international community on peace and security, labeled the attack on Oct. 21 a "terrorist attack."

The statement renewed European concern about the proliferation of advanced missile and drone technology in the region, calling on all actors, particularly the Houthis, to release abductees and all persons held unlawfully or arbitrarily.

The Yemeni government called on the international community to classify the Houthi militia on the list of global terrorism.

It approved the ban and freezing of 12 local entities accused of supporting the militia in the context of implementing the National Defense Council's decision to punish the group and its leaders and dry up its funding sources after classifying it as a terrorist.



Lebanon Says Two Killed in Israeli Strike on Palestinian Refugee Camp

22 January 2026, Lebanon, Qnarit: People inspect the damage of a building that was destroyed by an Israeli air raid on the southern Lebanese village of Qnarit. (dpa)
22 January 2026, Lebanon, Qnarit: People inspect the damage of a building that was destroyed by an Israeli air raid on the southern Lebanese village of Qnarit. (dpa)
TT

Lebanon Says Two Killed in Israeli Strike on Palestinian Refugee Camp

22 January 2026, Lebanon, Qnarit: People inspect the damage of a building that was destroyed by an Israeli air raid on the southern Lebanese village of Qnarit. (dpa)
22 January 2026, Lebanon, Qnarit: People inspect the damage of a building that was destroyed by an Israeli air raid on the southern Lebanese village of Qnarit. (dpa)

Lebanon said an Israeli strike on the country's largest Palestinian refugee camp killed two people on Friday, with Israel's army saying it had targeted the Palestinian group Hamas. 

The official National News Agency said "an Israeli drone" targeted a neighborhood of the Ain al-Hilweh camp, which is located on the outskirts of the southern city of Sidon. 

Lebanon's health ministry said two people were killed in the raid. The NNA had earlier reported one dead and an unspecified number of wounded. 

An AFP correspondent saw smoke rising from a building in the densely populated camp as ambulances headed to the scene. 

The Israeli army said in a statement that its forces "struck a Hamas command center from which terrorists operated", calling activity there "a violation of the ceasefire understandings between Israel and Lebanon" and a threat to Israel. 

The Israeli military "is operating against the entrenchment" of the Palestinian group in Lebanon and will "continue to act decisively against Hamas terrorists wherever they operate", it added. 

Israel has kept up regular strikes on Lebanon despite a November 2024 ceasefire that sought to halt more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah. 

Israel has also struck targets belonging to Hezbollah's Palestinian ally Hamas, including in a raid on Ain al-Hilweh last November that killed 13 people. 

The UN rights office had said 11 children were killed in that strike, which Israel said targeted a Hamas training compound, though the group denied it had military installations in Palestinian camps in Lebanon. 

In October 2023, Hezbollah began launching rockets at Israel in support of Hamas at the outset of the Gaza war, triggering hostilities that culminated in two months of all-out war between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese group. 

On Sunday, Lebanon said an Israeli strike near the Syrian border in the country's east killed four people, as Israel said it targeted operatives from Palestinian group Islamic Jihad. 


UN Says It Risks Halting Somalia Aid Due to Funding Cuts 

A Somali trader marks watermelons for sale at an open-air grocery market as Muslims start the fasting month of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, within Bakara market in Mogadishu, Somalia, February 18, 2026. (Reuters)
A Somali trader marks watermelons for sale at an open-air grocery market as Muslims start the fasting month of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, within Bakara market in Mogadishu, Somalia, February 18, 2026. (Reuters)
TT

UN Says It Risks Halting Somalia Aid Due to Funding Cuts 

A Somali trader marks watermelons for sale at an open-air grocery market as Muslims start the fasting month of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, within Bakara market in Mogadishu, Somalia, February 18, 2026. (Reuters)
A Somali trader marks watermelons for sale at an open-air grocery market as Muslims start the fasting month of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, within Bakara market in Mogadishu, Somalia, February 18, 2026. (Reuters)

The UN's World Food Program (WFP) warned Friday it would have to stop humanitarian assistance in Somalia by April if it did not receive new funding.

The Rome-based agency said it had already been forced to reduce the number of people receiving emergency food assistance from 2.2 million in early 2025 to just over 600,000 today.

"Without immediate funding, WFP will be forced to halt humanitarian assistance by April," it said in a statement.

In early January, the United States suspended aid to Somalia over reports of theft and government interference, following the destruction of a US-funded WFP warehouse in the capital Mogadishu's port.

The US announced a resumption of WFP food distribution on January 29.

However, all UN agencies have warned of serious funding shortfalls since Washington began slashing aid across the world following President Donald Trump's return to the White House last year.

"The situation is deteriorating at an alarming rate," said Ross Smith, WFP Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response, in Friday's statement.

"Families have lost everything, and many are already being pushed to the brink. Without immediate emergency food support, conditions will worsen quickly.

"We are at the cusp of a decisive moment; without urgent action, we may be unable to reach the most vulnerable in time, most of them women and children."

Some 4.4 million people in Somalia are facing crisis-levels of food insecurity, according to the WFP, the largest humanitarian agency in the country.

The Horn of Africa country has been plagued by conflict and also suffered two consecutive failed rainy seasons.


Hamas Says Path for Gaza Must Begin with End to ‘Aggression’ 

Makeshift tents of displaced Palestinian families among the ruins of their homes at sunset during the holy month of Ramadan in Jabaliya northern Gaza Strip on, 19 February 2026. (EPA)
Makeshift tents of displaced Palestinian families among the ruins of their homes at sunset during the holy month of Ramadan in Jabaliya northern Gaza Strip on, 19 February 2026. (EPA)
TT

Hamas Says Path for Gaza Must Begin with End to ‘Aggression’ 

Makeshift tents of displaced Palestinian families among the ruins of their homes at sunset during the holy month of Ramadan in Jabaliya northern Gaza Strip on, 19 February 2026. (EPA)
Makeshift tents of displaced Palestinian families among the ruins of their homes at sunset during the holy month of Ramadan in Jabaliya northern Gaza Strip on, 19 February 2026. (EPA)

Discussions on Gaza's future must begin with a total halt to Israeli "aggression", the Palestinian movement Hamas said after US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace met for the first time.

"Any political process or any arrangement under discussion concerning the Gaza Strip and the future of our Palestinian people must start with the total halt of aggression, the lifting of the blockade, and the guarantee of our people's legitimate national rights, first and foremost their right to freedom and self-determination," Hamas said in a statement Thursday.

Trump's board met for its inaugural session in Washington on Thursday, with a number of countries pledging money and personnel to rebuild the Palestinian territory, more than four months into a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted however that Hamas must disarm before any reconstruction begins.

"We agreed with our ally the US that there will be no reconstruction of Gaza before the demilitarization of Gaza," Netanyahu said.

The Israeli leader did not attend the Washington meeting but was represented by his foreign minister Gideon Saar.

Trump said several countries had pledged more than seven billion dollars to rebuild the territory.

Muslim-majority Indonesia will take a deputy commander role in a nascent International Stabilization Force, the unit's American chief Major General Jasper Jeffers said.

Trump, whose plan for Gaza was endorsed by the UN Security Council in November, also said five countries had committed to providing troops, including Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania.