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KSRelief’s Al-Rabeeah Discusses Support for Yemen, Exposes Houthi Targeting of Humanitarian Relief

KSRelief’s Al-Rabeeah Discusses Support for Yemen, Exposes Houthi Targeting of Humanitarian Relief
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KSRelief’s Al-Rabeeah Discusses Support for Yemen, Exposes Houthi Targeting of Humanitarian Relief

KSRelief’s Al-Rabeeah Discusses Support for Yemen, Exposes Houthi Targeting of Humanitarian Relief

Saudi Arabia continues to support the building of neighboring Yemen’s coronavirus vaccination capacity, King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) General Supervisor Abdullah Al-Rabeeah reaffirmed on Thursday

Speaking at an online videoconference organized by the National Council of US-Arab Relations, Al-Rabeeah revealed that talks were ongoing between KSRelief and the Yemeni government to extend more support to the war-torn country.

After contacting Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed, KSRelief arranged for the delivery of a number of testing kits and machines and cameras to authorities at Yemen’s health ministry, noted Al-Rabeeah.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, Saudi Arabia has stood in solidarity with the Yemeni health sector and government institutions fighting the spread of the pandemic.

On the challenges facing humanitarian relief work in Yemen, Al-Rabeeah cited security threats and hostility carried out by Houthis against aid workers in the battle-weary country.

“KSRelief convoys have been targeted in more than 35 incidents,” said Al-Rabeeah, adding that 39 arbitrary detentions and 31 muggings have targeted the organization’s workers and aid supplies in Yemen.

Al-Rabeeah also shed light on Houthi militias recruiting and deploying child soldiers to fight on battlefronts.

“Over 25,000 children have been recruited,” he said, adding that KSRelief is working on rehabilitating minors that were drafted by Houthi militias.

According to Al-Rabeeah, KSRelief launched a rehabilitation program that offers psychological, social, educational and family counseling services to prevent those children from becoming a threat in the future.

As for Saudi Arabia’s record of ongoing support for Yemenis, Al-Rabeeah reminded that the kingdom hosts over half a million Yemeni refugees that it treats as “visitors, not asylum seekers.”

Yemenis in Saudi Arabia have been granted official documents all over the kingdom, stressed Al-Rabeeah.

He also pointed out that Yemeni children are offered free access to public schools and health programs in Saudi Arabia.

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UN Food Agency Says Its Food Stocks in Gaza Have Run out under Israel’s Blockade

A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
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UN Food Agency Says Its Food Stocks in Gaza Have Run out under Israel’s Blockade

A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)

The World Food Program says its food stocks in the Gaza Strip have run out under Israel’s nearly 8-week-old blockade, ending a main source of sustenance for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the territory.

The WFP said in a statement that it delivered the last of its stocks to charity kitchens that it supports around Gaza. It said those kitchens are expected to run out of food in the coming days.

Some 80% of Gaza’s population of more than 2 million relies primarily on charity kitchens for food, because other sources have shut down under Israel’s blockade, according to the UN. The WFP has been supporting 47 kitchens that distribute 644,000 hot meals a day, WFP spokesperson Abeer Etefa told the Associated Press.

It was not immediately clear how many kitchens would still be operating in Gaza if those shut down. But Etefa said the WFP-backed kitchens are the major ones in Gaza.

Israel cut off entry of all food, fuel, medicine and other supplies to Gaza on March 2 and then resumed its bombardment and ground offensives two weeks later, shattering a two-month ceasefire with Hamas. It says the moves aim to pressure Hamas to release hostages it still holds. Rights groups have called the blockade a “starvation tactic” and a potential war crime.

Israel has said Gaza has enough supplies after a surge of aid entered during the ceasefire and accuses Hamas of diverting aid for its purposes. Humanitarian workers deny there is significant diversion, saying the UN strictly monitors distribution. They say the aid flow during the ceasefire was barely enough to cover the immense needs from throughout the war when only a trickle of supplies got in.

With no new goods entering Gaza, many foods have disappeared from markets, including meat, eggs, fruits, dairy products and many vegetables. Prices for what remains have risen dramatically, becoming unaffordable for much of the population. Most families rely heavily on canned goods.

Malnutrition is already surging. The UN said it identified 3,700 children suffering from acute malnutrition in March, up 80% from the month before. At the same time, because of diminishing supplies, aid groups were only able to provide nutritional supplements to some 22,000 children in March, down 70% from February. The supplements are a crucial tool for averting malnutrition.

Almost all bakeries shut down weeks ago and the WFP stopped distribution of food basics to families for lack of supplies. With stocks of most ingredients depleted, charity kitchens generally can only serve meals of pasta or rice with little added.

World Central Kitchen -- a US charity that is one of the biggest in Gaza that doesn’t rely on the WFP -- said Thursday that its kitchens had run out of proteins. Instead, they make stews from canned vegetables. Because fuel is scarce, it dismantles wooden shipping pallets to burn in its stoves, it said. It also runs the only bakery still functioning in Gaza, producing 87,000 loaves of pita a day.

The WFP said 116,000 tons of food is ready to be brought into Gaza if Israel opens the borders, enough to feed 1 million people for four months.

Israel has leveled much of Gaza with its air and ground campaign, vowing to destroy Hamas after its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. It has killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, whose count does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

In the Oct. 7 attack, gunmen killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251. They still hold 59 hostages after most were released in ceasefire deals.