Death Toll Mounts in Houthi Attack on Yemen’s Khubzah

The Presidential Leadership Council meets in Aden on Wednesday. (Saba)
The Presidential Leadership Council meets in Aden on Wednesday. (Saba)
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Death Toll Mounts in Houthi Attack on Yemen’s Khubzah

The Presidential Leadership Council meets in Aden on Wednesday. (Saba)
The Presidential Leadership Council meets in Aden on Wednesday. (Saba)

Eighteen people, including women and children, have been killed and injured in the Iran-backed Houthi militias’ barbaric attack on Yemen’s Khubzah village, revealed rights sources on Thursday.

The militias launched their attack on the village on Tuesday after besieging it for a week. The attack is seen as a reprisal against villagers who have fought the Houthis since 2014.

The Presidential Leadership Council has called on the government to immediately come to the aid of the village, located in the al-Bayda province.

The SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties said the Houthis were using all forms of heavy weapons to attack homes and properties in Khubzah.

At least ten civilians, including children, have been killed, and seven others were wounded. A number of people are under siege amid the ongoing attack.

Local sources said the attack has caused widespread destruction. They expressed their fear that the Houthis would commit mass executions of the population, estimated at around 2,000 people.

The Presidential Council on Thursday followed up on the latest developments.

The Saba news agency said the council reviewed two reports from al-Bayda and security agencies on the horrific human rights violations committed by the Houthis in Khubzah.

The militias have tightened the siege on the village and are barring medical services and food from entering.

The council called on the government to intervene to send aid to the people in coordination with international and local humanitarian organizations.

The Mayyun Organization for Human Rights and Development revealed it had received pleas for aid as the Houthis are reportedly preparing to commit a massacre in the village.

It called on the United Nations offices in Yemen and international community to realize the severity and tragedy of the situation and to exert enough pressure so that the situation on the ground can be reversed to the way it was before the Houthi campaign began.

It slammed the barbaric siege against civilians under the pretext of implausible excuses. It cited similar sieges carried out by the militias in other regions over the years, such as against al-Zaher in al-Bayda and Hojor in the Hajjah province.

Information Minister Moammer al-Eryani condemned the militias for their arbitrary attack of houses, using tanks and artillery, describing it as a war crime.

The Houthis’ committing of such a heinous crime amid a truce confirms their disregard for peace and easing the suffering of the people, he remarked.

He accused the militias of exploiting the UN-sponsored truce “to recruit more members, deepen their oppression and bring tribes, which are not loyal to them, to their knees.”

The minister called on the international community and UN and American envoys to condemn the barbaric attack and exert real pressure on the Houthis so they can end it.

The perpetrators must be held to account before international tribunals, he demanded, while the siege must be immediately lifted off Khubzah and safe passage must be granted to civilians



UN Calls for Independent Probe into Civilians Harmed Trying to Get Food in Gaza

 Palestinians carry bags filled with food and humanitarian aid provided by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-backed organization approved by Israel, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians carry bags filled with food and humanitarian aid provided by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-backed organization approved by Israel, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
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UN Calls for Independent Probe into Civilians Harmed Trying to Get Food in Gaza

 Palestinians carry bags filled with food and humanitarian aid provided by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-backed organization approved by Israel, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians carry bags filled with food and humanitarian aid provided by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-backed organization approved by Israel, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres on Tuesday slammed as "unacceptable" the deaths of Palestinians seeking food aid in Gaza, a spokesman said, calling the loss of life in the territory "unthinkable".

"The Secretary-General continues to call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for the perpetrators to be held to account," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

"We are witnessing unthinkable loss of life in Gaza (and) the secretary-general condemns the loss of lives and injuries of Palestinians seeking aid," he said. "It is unacceptable civilians are risking and in several instances losing their lives just trying to get food."

At least 27 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded by Israeli fire near a food distribution site in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, local health authorities said, in the third day of chaos and bloodshed to affect the aid operation.

A spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross told Reuters that its field hospital in Rafah received 184 casualties, adding that 19 of those were declared dead upon arrival, and eight died of their wounds shortly after.

The US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation launched its first distribution sites last week in an effort to alleviate widespread hunger amongst Gaza's war-battered population, most of whom have had to abandon their homes to flee fighting.

The Foundation's aid plan, which bypasses traditional aid groups, has come under fierce criticism from the United Nations and established charities which say it does not follow humanitarian principles.

The private group, which is endorsed by Israel, said it distributed 21 truckloads of food early on Tuesday and that the aid operation was "conducted safely and without incident within the site".

However, there have been reports of repeated killings near Rafah as crowds gather to get desperately needed supplies.

On Sunday, Palestinian and international officials reported that at least 31 people were killed and dozens more injured. On Monday, three more Palestinians were reportedly killed by Israeli fire.

The Israeli military has denied targeting civilians gathering for aid and called reports of deaths during Sunday’s distribution "fabrications" by Hamas.