Yemen Faces Flood Warnings as Second Season Starts

Two Yemenis navigate a small boat through a flooded street in Sanaa (Twitter)
Two Yemenis navigate a small boat through a flooded street in Sanaa (Twitter)
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Yemen Faces Flood Warnings as Second Season Starts

Two Yemenis navigate a small boat through a flooded street in Sanaa (Twitter)
Two Yemenis navigate a small boat through a flooded street in Sanaa (Twitter)

With an air of confidence and a palpable sense of elation in his voice, Khalid Mohsen Saleh declared that this year’s farming season in Yemen will surpass all previous ones.

Yemeni farmers have attested that the country has not experienced such persistent and abundant rainfall in years.

Despite it sounding like good news to farmers, heavy rains threaten flooding refugee camps in several Yemeni provinces, especially in Marib, Hajjah, and Taiz. Earlier downpour in those areas killed 14 individuals and injured 30 others.

Around 1,000 residences were destroyed as well, according to a report by the Yemen Red Crescent Society.

Nevertheless, Saleh, a resident of Ibb governorate, the early onset of summer rainfall provides hope for a good agricultural season, amidst the country’s crisis due to the war.

He explained to Asharq Al-Awsat over the phone that people are now able to grow crops such as potatoes, corn, barley, and others.

Saleh also noted that the abundant and continuous rainfall is something Yemen has not seen in years. This has led to the revival of many springs, streams, and hills, which now provide food for cattle and sheep after years of drought.

Yemenis in Sanaa voiced complaints about the poor state of the capital's streets as one of the negative impacts of the heavy rainfall.

In Sanaa, and other cities under Houthi control, road asphalt was eroded, and potholes had spread significantly. Additionally, multiple rural roads have been destroyed due to flash floods.

Yemen’s national meteorological center has warned residents in areas prone to thunderstorms of the dangers of being in flood corridors, valleys, and in streams and wadis, and to avoid crossing them during and after heavy rainfall.

Drivers on roads and mountainous bends have also been warned of potential rockslides and reduced visibility due to rain, fog, or low clouds. Weather forecasts indicate that the amount of rain that will fall in the next two weeks will exceed 300 mm and will extend to the eastern regions of Hadramout and Al-Mahra governorates.



Amnesty International Says Israel and Aid System Use Starvation to Commit Gaza Genocide

Palestinians queue for a hot meal at a charity kitchen at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on May 4, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
Palestinians queue for a hot meal at a charity kitchen at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on May 4, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
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Amnesty International Says Israel and Aid System Use Starvation to Commit Gaza Genocide

Palestinians queue for a hot meal at a charity kitchen at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on May 4, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
Palestinians queue for a hot meal at a charity kitchen at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on May 4, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)

Amnesty International issued a report Thursday claiming a controversial Israeli- and US-backed system to distribute aid in Gaza uses starvation tactics against Palestinians to continue to commit genocide in the Gaza Strip during Israel's war with Hamas.

The UK-based human rights group condemned Israel and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which the US and Israel have backed to take over aid distribution in Gaza from a network led by the United Nations.

Israel’s foreign minister denounced the Amnesty report, saying the organization has “joined forces with Hamas and fully adopted all of its propaganda lies.”

Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 500 Palestinians have been killed at or near GHF distribution centers over the past month. The centers are guarded by private security contractors and located near Israeli military positions. Palestinian officials and witnesses have accused Israeli forces of opening fire at crowds of people moving near the sites.

The Amnesty report said Israel has “turned aid-seeking into a booby trap for desperate starved Palestinians” through GHF's militarized hubs. The conditions have created "a deadly mix of hunger and disease pushing the population past breaking point.”

“This devastating daily loss of life as desperate Palestinians try to collect aid is the consequence of their deliberate targeting by Israeli forces and the foreseeable consequence of irresponsible and lethal methods of distribution,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty’s secretary general.

Israel rejects claims

The Israeli army says it has fired warning shots to control crowds and only fires at people it says are acting suspiciously.

The Foreign Ministry and COGAT, the Israeli defense body in charge of coordinating aid to Gaza, said Israel has facilitated the entry of over 3,000 aid trucks into the Gaza Strip since May 19 and GHF has delivered boxes of food with the equivalent of 56 million meals.

Humanitarian organizations say that amount is not nearly enough to meet overwhelming need in Gaza. GHF did not immediately return requests for comment.

The World Food Program says despite the new Israel-backed initiative, food consumption reached a critical low last month, with food diversity reaching its worst level since the conflict began.

“The continued closure of crossings, intensified violence since March, soaring food prices, and extremely limited humanitarian and commercial supplies have severely restricted access to even basic food items,” the WFP said in a June report.

GHF hubs are close to Israeli military positions

Amnesty’s report follows a statement earlier this week from more than 165 major international charities and non-governmental organizations calling for an immediate end to the foundation. They say the new mechanism allows Israel to use food as a weapon, violates humanitarian principles and is ineffective.

It’s the latest sign of trouble for the GHF, a secretive initiative headed by an evangelical leader who is a close ally of President Donald Trump. Last month, the US government pledged $30 million for the group to continue operation, the first known US donation to the group, whose other funding sources remain opaque.

GHF started distributing aid May 26 following a nearly three-month Israeli blockade that pushed Gaza’s population of more than 2 million to the brink of famine.

Palestinian witnesses have described scenes of chaos around the distribution sites, and two contractors in the operation have told The Associated Press that colleagues fired live ammunition and stun grenades toward crowds of people. Palestinians often must travel long distances to reach the sites.

In a statement Tuesday, GHF rejected criticism of its operations and claimed it has delivered more than 52 million meals to hungry Palestinians.

“Instead of bickering and throwing insults from the sidelines, we would welcome other humanitarian groups to join us and feed the people in Gaza,” GHF said.

GHF has called for Israel’s military to investigate the allegations from Gaza’s Health Ministry, but last month the organization said there has been no violence in or around its centers and its personnel have not opened fire.

Israel demanded the alternative plan because it accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid. The UN and aid groups deny there is significant diversion.

Amnesty's allegations of genocide Amnesty accused Israel last year of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip during its war with Hamas, saying it has sought to deliberately destroy Palestinians by mounting deadly attacks, demolishing vital infrastructure, and preventing the delivery of food, medicine and other aid.

Israel, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has adamantly rejected genocide allegations against it as an antisemitic “blood libel.” It is challenging such allegations filed by South Africa at the International Court of Justice and has rejected the International Criminal Court’s accusations that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister committed war crimes in Gaza.