Sanaa IDPs Face Hunger After Houthis Seize Aid

A nurse weighs Afaf Hussein, 10, who is malnourished, at the malnutrition treatment ward of al-Sabeen hospital in Sanaa, Yemen, January 31, 2019. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
A nurse weighs Afaf Hussein, 10, who is malnourished, at the malnutrition treatment ward of al-Sabeen hospital in Sanaa, Yemen, January 31, 2019. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
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Sanaa IDPs Face Hunger After Houthis Seize Aid

A nurse weighs Afaf Hussein, 10, who is malnourished, at the malnutrition treatment ward of al-Sabeen hospital in Sanaa, Yemen, January 31, 2019. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
A nurse weighs Afaf Hussein, 10, who is malnourished, at the malnutrition treatment ward of al-Sabeen hospital in Sanaa, Yemen, January 31, 2019. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

Sabri Moneef, an internally displaced Yemeni who left Hodeidah for Sanaa, voiced his deep concerns and fears towards relief agencies halving their aid as per their announcement last April.

Moneef says he dreads that his family, which is very dependent on food aid, will be cut off completely and left to starve.

As a father of eight children, Moneef complains that he is being denied his share of food baskets distributed by the UN after aid having come to a halt. Houthis in Sanaa claim that it was the UN that stopped the aid.

Moneef, 43, says the last time his family received any aid was in Ramadan. Even then the food basket they received was missing cooking oil and sugar. The impoverished refugee in Sanaa claims that Houthis had plundered the missing items given that they were in charge of aid distribution in the coup-held capital.

He also talks about hundreds of IDPs in Sanaa who have not received their food aid for over four months, as they face several Houthi obstacles that prevent them from obtaining aid allocated for them.

According to local statistics, there are more than 60,000 Yemeni families who have been displaced during the past years to Sanaa due to the Houthi-waged war.

The livelihood of these families mainly depends on the international relief aid provided to them.

A number of international donors, including the US, have cut aid to Yemenis as a result of their suspicions that their previous contributions were being seized and diverted to militia-controlled areas, instead of being distributed to the needy.

Relief officials said that they had faced many delays in the past in obtaining the necessary approvals and statements by the Houthi militias to deliver aid. They also added that their employees are exposed to abuse and detention by the group's militants.



US Revokes Visa of Former Iraqi Finance Minister

The seal of the United States Department of State is seen in Washington, US, January 26, 2017. (Reuters)
The seal of the United States Department of State is seen in Washington, US, January 26, 2017. (Reuters)
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US Revokes Visa of Former Iraqi Finance Minister

The seal of the United States Department of State is seen in Washington, US, January 26, 2017. (Reuters)
The seal of the United States Department of State is seen in Washington, US, January 26, 2017. (Reuters)

The Trump administration has revoked the U.S. visa of a former Iraqi finance minister who was honored in 2022 with an “International Women of Courage” award by the State Department.

The department said Friday it had revoked the visa of Taif Sami Mohammed Al Shakarchi, who served as Iraq’s finance minister from 2022 until July.

Earlier this month she was implicated by Iraqi authorities in a possible corruption scheme.

The department said her visa was revoked after the FBI added her to its “terrorism watchlist.”

It was not clear why she had been added to the watchlist but officials said she had left the United States before her visa revoked.


Israeli Strike Kills Three in West Bank; Israel Says It Targeted Hamas Operative

Israeli troops search the area following an airstrike that killed three Palestinians near the West Bank city of Jenin, 28 August 2026. (EPA)
Israeli troops search the area following an airstrike that killed three Palestinians near the West Bank city of Jenin, 28 August 2026. (EPA)
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Israeli Strike Kills Three in West Bank; Israel Says It Targeted Hamas Operative

Israeli troops search the area following an airstrike that killed three Palestinians near the West Bank city of Jenin, 28 August 2026. (EPA)
Israeli troops search the area following an airstrike that killed three Palestinians near the West Bank city of Jenin, 28 August 2026. (EPA)

Israel's military said it ‌carried out an airstrike in the West Bank on Friday that killed a Palestinian it described as a Hamas operative, as well as two of his accomplices, in a rare use of deadly Israeli air power in the occupied territory.

Hamas condemned the strike but did not claim the person targeted, whom the Israeli military named as Qais Bitawi, as a member. The strike targeted a car in the area of Jenin in the northern West Bank, the military and medics said.

The West Bank has seen a surge ‌in militant ‌Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians, as well as military ‌raids ⁠into Palestinian towns. The ⁠northern West Bank, where Jenin sits, was the site of a major Israeli assault last year, which the military says was aimed at targeting militant strongholds.

In a statement, the military said Bitawi was involved in directing, funding and executing attacks on Israeli civilians and security forces. It said he maintained ties with Hamas members in Gaza, ⁠where the group is based, as well as ‌abroad.

The Palestine Red Crescent ambulance ‌service said Israeli ground troops raided the site of the drone strike, briefly detained ‌medics and prevented them from transporting those wounded or killed ‌to hospital.

Israel's military did not immediately provide comment on the ambulance service's statements.

Israel's 2025 operations in the northern West Bank forced thousands of Palestinians from their homes, with Israeli forces clearing out refugee camps and maintaining their ‌longest presence in some West Bank cities for decades.

Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of war ⁠crimes and crimes ⁠against humanity over what it said were forced expulsions. Israel denies committing such crimes.

In Gaza, where the US has been working to salvage a deal that would disarm Hamas in exchange for Israel withdrawing from the territory, at least five Palestinians were killed in three Israeli strikes on Friday, Gaza health officials said.

Those incidents included an Israeli strike near Deir Al-Balah that killed three people from the same family; a strike on a motorbike that killed one in Gaza City; and a separate strike in Gaza City that killed one Palestinian, according to health officials.

The Israeli military did not immediately provide comment on the strikes.


Drone Strikes Kill 8 Civilians in Sudan’s North Kordofan

Sudanese army solders take part in a military parade on August 17, 2026, in the city of Gedaref in eastern Sudan during celebrations to mark the 72nd anniversary of the Sudanese Armed Forces. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese army solders take part in a military parade on August 17, 2026, in the city of Gedaref in eastern Sudan during celebrations to mark the 72nd anniversary of the Sudanese Armed Forces. (Photo by AFP)
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Drone Strikes Kill 8 Civilians in Sudan’s North Kordofan

Sudanese army solders take part in a military parade on August 17, 2026, in the city of Gedaref in eastern Sudan during celebrations to mark the 72nd anniversary of the Sudanese Armed Forces. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese army solders take part in a military parade on August 17, 2026, in the city of Gedaref in eastern Sudan during celebrations to mark the 72nd anniversary of the Sudanese Armed Forces. (Photo by AFP)

Drone strikes have killed eight civilians and wounded dozens in Sudan's Kordofan region, a rights group said Friday.

Emergency Lawyers, an independent group documenting atrocities in Sudan, said a drone targeted a group of civilians traveling Thursday in the desert town of Sowdari in North Korodofan state. As others rushed to help the victims, a second drone struck, the group said.

The group said in a statement posted on Facebook that targeting civilians and then attacking again while they were being rescued amounts to a violation of international humanitarian law and is a war crime. It called for an independent investigation to determine who was responsible.

Sudan plunged into all-out war in April 2023 as fighting erupted between the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese military. The conflict has killed at least 59,000 people killed, according to Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, a conflict monitoring group. Aid groups say the figure is an undercount and the true number could be many times higher.

Drone warfare has become a defining feature in the country's war, with both sides carrying out strikes. Drone strikes are now the leading cause of death in Sudan, according to the United Nations, accounting for 80% of civilian deaths during the first four months of 2026.