Houthi Aid Constraints Affect 10 Mn Yemenis

Saudi-backed aid distribution on the west coast of Yemen (UN)
Saudi-backed aid distribution on the west coast of Yemen (UN)
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Houthi Aid Constraints Affect 10 Mn Yemenis

Saudi-backed aid distribution on the west coast of Yemen (UN)
Saudi-backed aid distribution on the west coast of Yemen (UN)

An estimated 10.1 million (49 percent) of the people in need across Yemen are living in areas affected by Houthi aid access constraints, according to the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs.

In a report reviewing the relief work during the past year, the UN indicated that the operating environment in Yemen remains highly challenging, with more than 3,500 humanitarian access-related incidents recorded in 2022.

The bureaucratic impediments continued to delay and hinder the delivery of principled humanitarian assistance.

The report confirmed that security incidents increased throughout 2022, including carjacking, kidnappings, and violence against humanitarian personnel, with 14 abductions and 13 detentions reported by partners during 2022.

The six-month UN-brokered truce (2 April – 2 October 2022) saw decreased civilian casualties and displacement (76 percent), with no airstrikes or significant military operations, and facilitated greater freedom of movement and increased flow of fuel imports, as well as enhanced humanitarian access in some areas.

However, the report noted that low-level clashes continued in frontline areas throughout the truce, including landmines, and devastatingly impacted civilians as movements increased.

More than three-quarters of all displaced persons in Yemen are women and children, and at least 26 percent of displaced households are female-headed.

The report stated that the Yemeni economy continued to weaken, affected by macroeconomic instability, the de facto separation of economic institutions and competing monetary policies, import restrictions, increased costs of food and other essential materials, and the impact of natural disasters.

According to the report of the UN office, the humanitarian operations in Yemen witnessed a significant funding decrease.

By the end of last year, the Humanitarian Response Plan was funded by only 54.6 percent, leaving a gap of $1.94 billion, affecting the provision of humanitarian aid and leading to a decrease in emergency food aid.

The report said that after more than eight years of conflict, millions still suffer from the compounding effects of armed violence, the ongoing economic crisis, and the disruption of public services.

In its review, the UN office warned that food insecurity and malnutrition levels remain high, driven by the primary and secondary effects of the conflict and deteriorating macroeconomic conditions.

It said that an estimated 17 million people faced a crisis or, worse, acute food insecurity between October and December.

The country remains vulnerable to disease outbreaks, including vaccine-preventable ones.

Almost a third of the population is missing routine vaccinations. More than 80 percent of the country’s population struggles to access essential services, such as food, drinking water, and health care.

Less than half of health facilities are functioning, and many that remain operational need essential equipment. Water infrastructure is operating at less than five percent efficiency.

For its part, the World Food Program confirmed that malnutrition in Yemen was a health issue that preceded the beginning of the current conflict in the country, especially among children and pregnant and lactating women.

In the Hajjah governorate and surrounding areas, the war has exacerbated malnutrition.

The report stated that the team that went to the al-Qarah district to address malnutrition faced significant challenges and difficulties, including population dispersal and their continuous movements to search for pasture and work.

They also faced geographical challenges, as the roads were rough, and most of the population lived in mountainous heights.

The team also witnessed several social challenges, customs, traditions, revenge, and internal wars between tribes from time to time.

According to the UN program, the team faced another difficulty in selecting educated community health volunteers (CHVs), as 90 percent of the women in the region were illiterate, and those selected had poor performance levels.

Moreover, social norms in this area prevent women from working in the field, but with continuous follow-up and hard work, the team convinced the community of the CHV’s role in helping children and pregnant and lactating women.

One of the volunteers said, “Thanks to the hard work of YFCA’s team, we were able to implement the blanket supplementary feeding program activities in one of the most hard-to-reach areas.”

They reached 5,279 pregnant and lactating women and 7,011 children under two.



Israeli Military Raids Jenin in West Bank, Four Palestinians Reported Killed 

A child walks past a burnt vehicle in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Jenin on January 17, 2025. (AFP)
A child walks past a burnt vehicle in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Jenin on January 17, 2025. (AFP)
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Israeli Military Raids Jenin in West Bank, Four Palestinians Reported Killed 

A child walks past a burnt vehicle in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Jenin on January 17, 2025. (AFP)
A child walks past a burnt vehicle in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Jenin on January 17, 2025. (AFP)

Israeli security forces launched an operation in the volatile West Bank city of Jenin, killing at least four Palestinians, officials said on Tuesday.
Four Palestinians have been killed and around 35 injured in Israel's military offensive on Jenin, said the health ministry.

The military said soldiers, police and intelligence services had begun a counter-terrorism action in the city, giving no further details.

Prior to the Israeli action, Palestinian security forces had been conducting a weeks-long operation to reassert control in the city and the adjacent refugee camp, a major center of armed groups in the occupied West Bank.

Palestinian health services said at least four Palestinians were killed and 35 wounded as the Israeli raid began in Jenin, where an Israeli air strike last week in the refugee camp killed at least three Palestinians and wounded scores more.

The move into Jenin, where the Israeli army has carried out multiple raids and large-scale incursions over recent years, comes only days after the start of a ceasefire in Gaza and underscores the threat of more violence in the West Bank.

Late on Monday, bands of Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians, smashing cars and burning property, just as newly installed US President Donald Trump announced he was lifting sanctions on violent settlers.

The attack near the village of al-Funduq, in an area where three Israelis were killed in a shooting earlier this month, was the latest in a long sequence of incidents that have accelerated strongly since the start of the war in Gaza.

The military said it had opened an investigation into the incident, which it said involved dozens of Israeli civilians, some in masks.