UNRWA Says Food Distribution in Rafah Suspended Due to Insecurityhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5023031-unrwa-says-food-distribution-rafah-suspended-due-insecurity
UNRWA Says Food Distribution in Rafah Suspended Due to Insecurity
Displaced Palestinian children carry containers with food in Rafah, on the southern Gaza Strip, on May 19, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hamas group. (AFP)
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UNRWA Says Food Distribution in Rafah Suspended Due to Insecurity
Displaced Palestinian children carry containers with food in Rafah, on the southern Gaza Strip, on May 19, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hamas group. (AFP)
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said on Tuesday that food distribution in Gaza's southern city of Rafah were currently suspended due to lack of supplies and insecurity.
UNRWA said in a statement on X that only seven out of its 24 health centers were operational and that it had not received any medical supplies in the past 10 days due to "closures/disruptions" at the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings into Gaza.
Israel mounted a new push in central Gaza on Monday, bombarding towns in the north of the Palestinian enclave and saying it intended to broaden operations in Rafah despite US warnings of the risk of mass casualties in the southern city.
Simultaneous Israeli assaults on the southern and northern edges of Hamas-ruled Gaza this month have caused a new exodus of hundreds of thousands of people from their homes, and sharply restricted the flow of aid, raising the risk of famine.
Sanaa Tribes Hamper Houthi Push to Expand Recruitment
A gathering called for by the Houthi group in the southern suburbs of Sanaa (Houthi media)
Houthi efforts to expand mobilization and recruitment around Yemen’s Houthi-held capital Sanaa are facing growing tribal resistance after the group failed to rally residents in several districts for armed gatherings backing its military escalation, as it steps up pressure on tribal sheikhs to send more young men to the front lines and offset mounting losses.
Local and tribal sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Houthi leaders have intensified contacts in rural Sanaa since the start of this month, pressing tribal sheikhs to raise readiness for what the group calls “tribal mobilization,” stage armed gatherings and provide new batches of fighters to reinforce the fronts.
The campaign has targeted Bani Matar, Sanhan and Bani Bahloul, Bilad al-Rus, Khawlan, Jihana, Hamdan, Arhab, Nihm, Saafan and Manakha.
But the push has met reluctance from a number of sheikhs and local dignitaries, the sources said, amid growing resentment over the continued depletion of tribal communities in battles whose human and economic costs are borne by families and local communities.
Some tribal leaders have told the Houthis they are unable to provide new fighters, the sources added, as recruitment calls draw fewer responses and fears grow over sending more young men to fronts where the group is suffering repeated losses.
Houthis use killing, displacement, and abduction to subjugate tribes (Facebook)
Threats and incentives
The Houthis have gone beyond outreach and mobilization calls, the sources said, putting pressure on tribal sheikhs to comply with their demands.
The measures have included threats to withdraw privileges and impose financial penalties on those who fail to comply, while offering cash and material incentives to those who agree to supply fighters to the fronts.
Through these tactics, the group is seeking to shift responsibility for providing fighters onto tribal sheikhs and use their social influence to recruit men from their communities, as casualties mount on fronts in Taiz, the western coast, Marib, al-Jawf, Lahj and al-Dhalea.
In a sign of the difficulties facing the recruitment drive, areas in Bani Matar, Sanhan and Nihm in Sanaa province recently held separate tribal gatherings called by the Houthis, but turnout was limited, local sources said.
The group used its media outlets to portray the gatherings as expressions of tribal support, seeking to bolster its image and justify continued military activity while pushing to recruit more fighters.
The limited turnout, according to the sources, underscores the difficulty of turning Houthi appeals into broad tribal mobilization, particularly as objections grow to the depletion of young men and the use of tribal ties to serve the group’s military objectives.
The recruitment drive coincides with continued restrictions and pressure on residents of rural Sanaa, amid accusations that the Houthis are tightening their grip on opponents and continuing to seize privately owned land and property, further fueling public resentment.
As living conditions and public services deteriorate, families are facing heavier economic burdens while the group continues to focus its efforts on mobilization campaigns and military activity rather than residents’ basic needs.
Sanaa rural tribesmen forced to chant Houthi slogans (Facebook)
Families fear for their sons
The campaign comes as the Houthis continue efforts to reinforce the fronts with fighters, while families grow increasingly fearful that their sons could be killed or return with permanent injuries, at a time of worsening economic hardship and declining basic services in Houthi-controlled areas.
Residents of the targeted districts in rural Sanaa are calling for an end to recruitment and mobilization campaigns and for efforts to be redirected toward easing economic hardship and improving services, rather than sending their sons to the front lines.
The Yemeni government has called on tribal sheikhs, fathers and mothers in those areas to prevent their children from joining Houthi ranks, warning against sending them into battles that, in its view, serve Iran’s project and regional agenda at the expense of Yemeni lives and the country’s future.
The government accuses the group of exploiting social influence and economic hardship, alongside intimidation and inducements, to draw young people into mobilization camps and onto the front lines instead of providing conditions that would allow them to work and live away from war.
17,000 Strikes on Houthis Since Launch of Operation Dawn of Yemenhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5330369-17000-strikes-houthis-launch-operation-dawn-yemen
17,000 Strikes on Houthis Since Launch of Operation Dawn of Yemen
Fighters loyal to Yemen’s government on one of the front lines against the Houthis (AP)
Yemen’s armed forces said air and ground strikes carried out with support from the Coalition to Support Legitimacy had topped 17,000 since the launch of Operation Dawn of Yemen, as government forces repelled fierce Houthi attacks in Taiz and Lahj.
More than 1,250 strikes were carried out in the past 24 hours, neutralizing about 700 Houthi fighters and destroying or disabling more than 150 vehicles and pieces of military equipment, the armed forces said.
The heaviest fighting centered on western Taiz, where government forces said they repelled a Houthi assault that lasted about 12 hours, along with attacks in Al-Dhabab, Al-Aqrud and Al-Shaqab. Clashes also erupted on the Al-Mudaraba and Al-Wazi’iya fronts in Lahj province.
Colonel Majid al-Nuzaili, spokesman for Yemen’s armed forces, said operations over the past day targeted positions, fortifications, trenches, firing points, observation and reconnaissance posts, forward command-and-control centers, and Houthi assembly and supply areas.
He said the strikes were aimed at weakening the group’s defensive lines and limiting its ability to launch attacks, with a particular focus on the Taiz fronts.
Buildings stand in the southwestern city of Taiz, Yemen, October 15, 2026. REUTERS/Anees Mahyoub
Heavy fighting broke out west of Taiz city after a large-scale Houthi attack around Jabal Han that lasted about 12 hours, according to field accounts from government forces.
The forces said they repelled the assault and forced the attackers to withdraw from positions they had tried to seize.
Clashes spread to the old airport area, Ghurab and Bir Basha, with heavy and medium weapons, artillery and rockets used in the fighting. Confrontations also continued around the Republican Palace east of the city, amid reports of Houthi shelling of residential neighborhoods in the old airport area.
Government forces said they held their positions at Jabal Han and recaptured sites infiltrated by the attackers.
In southern Taiz province, government forces repelled Houthi attacks on the Al-Aqrud and Al-Shaqab fronts, while airstrikes hit a convoy of tanks and military vehicles in the Ras al-Najd area of Al-Misrakh district.
Other strikes targeted Houthi positions on Sofitel Hill east of Taiz city, as well as a tank and a military vehicle on the Al-Dhabab front to the west.
Government forces said the clashes and airstrikes killed or wounded dozens of Houthis. No independent casualty figures were available.
Reinforcements and attrition in Lahj
In western Lahj province, along the border with Taiz, the Southern Giants Brigades, led by Presidential Leadership Council member Abdulrahman al-Muharrami, sent reinforcements from the 6th Infantry Division and support units to the Al-Mudaraba front.
The deployment was aimed at reinforcing forces in the area and countering Houthi infiltration attempts.
The Giants Brigades said they destroyed Houthi military vehicles and equipment while repelling infiltration attempts.
Their media outlets also said the last company of the group’s 11th Reserve Brigade had been eliminated, describing it as part of the losses suffered by Houthi formations during the fighting.
The moves came as fighting continued on the Al-Wazi’iya front west of Taiz, where government forces are seeking to thwart attacks and prevent the Houthis from making gains toward areas bordering Lahj province.
The forces are also seeking to prevent the Houthis from outflanking government troops at Bab al-Mandab in an effort to break the siege of Houthi pockets.
Alongside the ground fighting, local authorities in Marib said the Houthis fired nine ballistic missiles and seven other projectiles at residential neighborhoods in the city on Thursday evening.
The authorities warned against continued attacks on populated areas and called on the international community and the United Nations to act to halt them.
In Aden, the death toll from a missile attack targeting the presidential Maashiq Palace and the Al-Buraiqa area west of the city rose to five, with 16 wounded, according to Public Health and Population Minister Qasem Buhaibeh.
He said the casualties included security personnel and civilian employees.
Smoke billows from the presidential palace complex following an attack by Yemen's Houthis, according to government officials, in Aden, Yemen, October 15, 2026, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. Social Media/via REUTERS
Operation continues
Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Rashad al-Alimi reviewed developments in Operation Dawn of Yemen and fighting across the various fronts during briefings from senior military and local officials.
The briefings were delivered by Defense Minister Lieutenant General Taher al-Aqili, Chief of the General Staff and Commander of Joint Operations Lieutenant General Sagheer bin Aziz, Commander of the Fourth Military Region Major General Hamdi Shukri, and the governors of Taiz and Lahj.
According to the briefings, the armed forces, with support from the Coalition to Support Legitimacy, had carried out more than 17,000 air and ground strikes since the operation began, targeting Houthi positions, concentrations and military capabilities across multiple fronts.
Al-Alimi praised the performance of the armed forces, military formations and popular resistance forces, and commended Saudi Arabia’s support and the role of the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in backing the Yemeni state and its armed forces.
He said the operation would continue in line with its stated objectives of restoring state institutions and extending state authority across all Yemeni territory, ultimately reaching the capital, Sanaa.
The briefings also covered humanitarian and public service conditions in Taiz and Lahj, including measures to respond to waves of displacement and secure basic services and supply routes amid the military escalation.
Al-Alimi accused the Houthis of imposing coercive measures in areas they had infiltrated in Taiz province, including forced recruitment, ideological mobilization and attempts to alter the identity of educational and community institutions.
He warned of the consequences of such practices and said the state was responsible for protecting citizens and holding those involved in violations accountable.
Iraq Says it Lost $60Bn Due to Mideast Warhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5330272-iraq-says-it-lost-60bn-due-mideast-war
Commuters drive past Baghdad's Shorja market on October 13, 2026. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
Iraq has lost around $60 billion during the Middle East war, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said on Thursday, with Iran blockading the Strait of Hormuz that is crucial to global energy flows, AFP reported.
Iraq was producing about four million barrels of oil per day before the conflict, exporting about 3.5 million bpd -- mostly shipped from the country's south via the strait.
But Iran's stranglehold on the waterway forced Iraq, lacking storage capacity, to halt most production and fall back on limited exports via Syria and Türkiye, by truck and pipeline respectively.
FILE PHOTO: Oil trucks from Iraq on their way to the Baniyas oil terminal, Syria, May 14, 2026. REUTERS/Mahmoud Hassano/File Photo
"Iraq has suffered losses estimated at around 60 billion dollars during the recent war between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran," Hussein told his Italian counterpart in Rome, according to a statement from the Iraqi foreign ministry.
After a heavy drop in production, Iraqi oil exports, which provide about 90 percent of the country's revenues, recovered modestly last month, reaching 2.6 million barrels per day between September 1 and 21, according to the oil ministry.
But at the same time, Iraq's foreign currency reserves have shrunk by 20 billion dollars and consumer prices have risen sharply, plunging it into economic crisis.
To try to contain the fallout, the Central Bank of Iraq last week devalued the dinar against the dollar for the first time in more than three years.
07 October 2026, Iraq, Duhok: Iraqi dinar and US dollar banknotes are displayed at a currency exchange shop in Duhok in Iraq's Kurdistan region. Photo: Ismael Adnan/dpa
Iraq relies heavily on foreign currency generated by oil sales to finance imports, stabilize the dinar, and pay the salaries of public sector employees and retirees.
According to the authorities, Iraq is seeking to diversify its economic resources and raise non-oil revenues from 10 percent to 45 percent by 2037.
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