UN Appeals for $4.3 Bn to Help Millions in War-torn Yemen

Yemeni children attend class outdoors in a heavily damaged school on the first day of the new academic year in Yemen's war-torn western province of Hodeida on October 17, 2022. Khaled Ziad, AFP
Yemeni children attend class outdoors in a heavily damaged school on the first day of the new academic year in Yemen's war-torn western province of Hodeida on October 17, 2022. Khaled Ziad, AFP
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UN Appeals for $4.3 Bn to Help Millions in War-torn Yemen

Yemeni children attend class outdoors in a heavily damaged school on the first day of the new academic year in Yemen's war-torn western province of Hodeida on October 17, 2022. Khaled Ziad, AFP
Yemeni children attend class outdoors in a heavily damaged school on the first day of the new academic year in Yemen's war-torn western province of Hodeida on October 17, 2022. Khaled Ziad, AFP

The United Nations said it needed $4.3 billion this year to help millions of people in war-ravaged Yemen, ahead of a donors' conference on Monday.

Aid agencies need the money to help more than 17 million people in the country, which has been devastated by an eight-year civil war, said AFP.

The conflict has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and plunged the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula into one of the world's worst humanitarian tragedies.

Yemen is also at the forefront of the climate crisis, with severe drought and flooding threatening lives, the UN said.

It acknowledged that "record global humanitarian needs are stretching donor support like never before".

"But without sustained support for the aid operation in Yemen, the lives of millions of Yemenis will hang in the balance, and efforts to end the conflict once and for all will become even more challenging," it said in a statement.

A truce that began on April 2 last year expired on October 2.

UN chief Antonio Guterres, who will attend Monday's donor conference in Geneva, said the international community had "the power and the means to end this crisis".

"And it begins by funding our appeal fully and committing to disbursing funds quickly," he said in the statement.

Last year, the UN raised more than $2.2 billion to enable aid agencies to reach nearly 11 million people across the country every month.



Israel Says It Arrests 4 Hezbollah Operatives in Southern Lebanon

 A general view of southern Lebanon, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect, near Israel's border with Lebanon in northern Israel, November 27, 2024. (Reuters)
A general view of southern Lebanon, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect, near Israel's border with Lebanon in northern Israel, November 27, 2024. (Reuters)
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Israel Says It Arrests 4 Hezbollah Operatives in Southern Lebanon

 A general view of southern Lebanon, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect, near Israel's border with Lebanon in northern Israel, November 27, 2024. (Reuters)
A general view of southern Lebanon, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect, near Israel's border with Lebanon in northern Israel, November 27, 2024. (Reuters)

Israel said its troops arrested on Wednesday four Hezbollah operatives, including a local commander, when they entered what it described as a restricted area in southern Lebanon.

The two sides entered into a ceasefire early Wednesday that appears to be holding, but Israel has said it will strike the group in response to any violations.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced the arrests in a statement. There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah.

The statement said Israeli troops have been ordered to prevent people from returning to villages near the border, where the forces are still deployed.

The ceasefire agreement gives Israel and Hezbollah fighters 60 days to withdraw from areas of southern Lebanon near the border. Thousands of Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers will patrol the area, and an international committee will monitor compliance.