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Houthis Say 43 Detained UN Staff to Face Trial over Israeli Attack

Houthi supporters dance as they celebrate following the announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan to pause the fighting, in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)
Houthi supporters dance as they celebrate following the announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan to pause the fighting, in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)
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Houthis Say 43 Detained UN Staff to Face Trial over Israeli Attack

Houthi supporters dance as they celebrate following the announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan to pause the fighting, in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)
Houthi supporters dance as they celebrate following the announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan to pause the fighting, in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)

Forty-three detained local United Nations staff will face trial on suspicion of links to an Israeli airstrike that assassinated top Houthi leaders in August, the acting foreign minister of Yemen’s Houthi government, Abdulwahid Abu Ras, told Reuters.

In August, the prime minister of Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi-run government and several other ministers were killed in an Israeli strike on the capital Sanaa, in the first such attack to kill senior officials, Reuters said.

The United Nations has repeatedly rejected Houthi accusations that UN staff or UN operations in Yemen were involved.

"The steps taken by the security agencies were carried out under full judicial supervision. The public prosecution was kept informed step by step with every action taken," Abu Ras said in an interview with Reuters.

'PROCESS MOVING TOWARD ITS CONCLUSION'

"Therefore, as long as the prosecution is informed, it is certain that this process is moving toward its conclusion, leading to trials and the issuance of judicial rulings," he said.

Abu Ras said that cell within the World Food Program was clearly involved in directly targeting the government.

There was no immediate comment from a World Food Program spokesperson. The United Nations has repeatedly rejected accusations staff were involved in spying.

At least 59 UN personnel are being held by Houthis, according to the United Nations, which has condemned what it calls arbitrary detentions and called for the immediate release of its personnel and other detainees.

The defendants are Yemenis. According to Yemeni law they could face the death penalty.

'INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT' FOR UN TO PROVIDE AID The latest detentions came after Houthi security forces entered several United Nations offices in Sanaa on Sunday.

The UN has accused Houthis of taking steps that have made it increasingly difficult for the agency to provide assistance to those in need in Yemen.

The acting foreign minister said the government is supporting other humanitarian organizations.

"We have clarified in a clear and explicit statement from the Foreign Ministry that we will support and assist organizations committed to the principles of humanitarian work, facilitating their activities and work," he said.

The Houthis have controlled large swathes of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, since seizing power in 2014 and early 2015.

After the war between Israel and Hamas erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, the Houthis attacked global shipping lanes to show their solidarity with the Palestinian group. The group frequently fired missiles towards Israel, most of which were intercepted.

Israel unleashed a wide-ranging military campaign against Iran's allies after it was attacked by Hamas in 2023, including the Houthis.

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Arab World

Pope Says he is 'Closer Than Ever' to Lebanese People

Pope Leo XIV addresses the crowd from the window of the apostolic palace overlooking St. Peter's square during the Regina Caeli prayer in The Vatican on April 12, 2026. (Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP)
Pope Leo XIV addresses the crowd from the window of the apostolic palace overlooking St. Peter's square during the Regina Caeli prayer in The Vatican on April 12, 2026. (Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP)
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Pope Says he is 'Closer Than Ever' to Lebanese People

Pope Leo XIV addresses the crowd from the window of the apostolic palace overlooking St. Peter's square during the Regina Caeli prayer in The Vatican on April 12, 2026. (Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP)
Pope Leo XIV addresses the crowd from the window of the apostolic palace overlooking St. Peter's square during the Regina Caeli prayer in The Vatican on April 12, 2026. (Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP)

Pope Leo XIV expressed his closeness to the people of Lebanon on Sunday, saying there was a "moral obligation" to protect them while calling on warring parties to seek peace.

"I am closer than ever, in these days of sorrow, fear, and unconquerable hope in God, to the beloved Lebanese people," the pope told the crowd at St. Peter's Square following his Regina Coeli prayer, citing "a moral obligation to protect the civilian population from the atrocious effects of war."

An Israeli strike on Sunday morning hit a home of seven people in the Lebanese town of Maaroub, the state-run National News Agency reported.

The strike came without warning, and Israel did not immediately comment on it.

Israel’s government has said its strikes target operatives or infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah.

Israeli strikes over Beirut have decreased in recent days, but its attacks on southern Lebanon have intensified alongside a ground invasion.

Arab World

Israeli Strikes Target ‘Joint Force’ Fighters in Gaza

Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinians who were killed in an Israeli strike, according to medics, at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, April 11, 2026. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinians who were killed in an Israeli strike, according to medics, at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, April 11, 2026. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
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Israeli Strikes Target ‘Joint Force’ Fighters in Gaza

Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinians who were killed in an Israeli strike, according to medics, at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, April 11, 2026. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinians who were killed in an Israeli strike, according to medics, at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, April 11, 2026. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip have recently focused on targeting Palestinian faction fighters operating within what is known as the “joint force,” deployed near sensitive areas close to the so-called “yellow line,” Palestinian sources said.

The force is tasked with preventing infiltration by Israeli special units or armed groups, particularly in zones a few hundred meters from the line.

Israeli forces and allied armed groups are positioned inside the “yellow line,” described as the initial withdrawal boundary under a ceasefire agreement that took effect on Oct. 10, 2025.

The line covers around 52 percent of the Gaza Strip, while Hamas and other Palestinian factions are deployed to the west, seeking to prevent incursions into their areas of control and avert attempts to create “chaos” through field operations, including assassinations or abductions.

An Israeli drone strike late Friday killed six fighters from the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, as they were deployed in Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, according to local sources.

The bodies were brought in pieces to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, while several other fighters and civilians were wounded, some critically, in the strike, which involved two missiles.

Hundreds of Palestinians attended the funeral on Saturday at the main mosque in Bureij camp.

A field source told Asharq Al-Awsat that those killed included a company commander and his deputy in the Qassam Brigades. They had arrived in the area to inspect fighters deployed there just one day after armed group members attempted to infiltrate near the Anis Stadium area, located several hundred meters west of the yellow line.

The deployment aimed to counter any renewed infiltration attempts, the source said.

In recent days, Israeli forces and allied armed groups have concentrated their attacks in central Gaza, killing several Palestinian faction fighters, most of them from the Qassam Brigades, including some displaced from northern areas.

The number of Palestinians killed since the ceasefire took effect has risen to more than 749, bringing the overall death toll since Oct. 7, 2023 to 72,328, according to Palestinian figures.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the Bureij strike and what he described as ongoing Israeli violations show that the offensive “has not stopped,” despite claims that the ceasefire is holding.

He added that the developments underscore the need to compel Israel to fully implement the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, including halting daily violations, before moving to the second phase.

Hamas told mediators and the high representative of the Peace Council, Nikolay Mladenov, during meetings in Cairo last week that it and other factions want Israel to fully implement the first phase before advancing further.

Cairo has been hosting new rounds of Palestinian talks since Friday, along with meetings involving mediators and Mladenov to discuss the factions’ final response to a proposed disarmament plan.

Dispute over aid deliveries

The talks come amid Hamas criticism of Mladenov after he said Thursday that 602 trucks carrying goods and aid had entered Gaza.

Gaza’s government media office and Hamas denied the figure.

In a post on X, Mladenov said: “Today, 602 trucks entered Gaza carrying essential supplies for families who have waited too long. This is what expanded aid access should look like, and it must become the daily standard, not the exception.”

He noted that the deliveries were made possible by efforts from his team, the Gaza Administration Committee and the Peace Council, adding that all parties must fully adhere to ceasefire commitments.

His comments came as Reuters reported, citing sources, that the Peace Council faces funding challenges affecting the Gaza administration body’s ability to assume its responsibilities and delaying reconstruction, claims the council has denied.

Bassem Naim, a member of Hamas’s political bureau and part of its negotiating delegation, described Mladenov’s statements as “misleading,” saying only 207 trucks entered Gaza on Thursday, including 79 carrying aid.

He stressed that Israel was meeting less than 38 percent of its agreed commitments to allow aid into Gaza.

“This misinformation does not conceal the worsening humanitarian catastrophe,” Naim underlined, calling on the international community to ensure full implementation of the first phase of the ceasefire.

Gaza’s government media office confirmed the 207-truck figure, saying deliveries fall far short of humanitarian needs.

The Gaza Chamber of Commerce revealed that average daily truck entries do not exceed 113, about 19 percent of the minimum required, with 86 percent consisting of food items and a near absence of production inputs, reflecting severe economic paralysis and contributing to shortages, market imbalances and rising prices.

Arab World

Lebanese Army Warns Hezbollah Supporters against Undermining Civil Peace

Hezbollah supporters demonstrate in Beirut to protest the Lebanese authorities’ decision to engage in direct negotiations with Israel, on April 10, 2026. (Photo by FADEL itani / AFP)
Hezbollah supporters demonstrate in Beirut to protest the Lebanese authorities’ decision to engage in direct negotiations with Israel, on April 10, 2026. (Photo by FADEL itani / AFP)
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Lebanese Army Warns Hezbollah Supporters against Undermining Civil Peace

Hezbollah supporters demonstrate in Beirut to protest the Lebanese authorities’ decision to engage in direct negotiations with Israel, on April 10, 2026. (Photo by FADEL itani / AFP)
Hezbollah supporters demonstrate in Beirut to protest the Lebanese authorities’ decision to engage in direct negotiations with Israel, on April 10, 2026. (Photo by FADEL itani / AFP)

The Lebanese army warned supporters of Hezbollah against actions that could undermine civil peace, as protests in Beirut over government policy entered a second day, raising tensions in the capital.

Demonstrations involving hundreds of Hezbollah and Amal Movement supporters have taken place in central Beirut, including near government headquarters in Riad al-Solh Square, with protesters blocking roads and moving through areas such as Hamra, Raouche, Sakiet al-Janzir and the so-called Ring Bridge. The protests are aimed at pressuring the government over its decision to launch direct negotiations with Israel and to restrict weapons to state control in Beirut.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam postponed a planned trip to the United States following the unrest.

“In light of the current domestic situation, and in order to fully carry out my duty to safeguard the security and unity of the Lebanese people, I have decided to postpone my trip to the United Nations and the United States to continue the government’s work from Beirut,” Salam said in a post on X.

The Lebanese army said in a statement it respects the right to peaceful expression but warned strongly against any actions that could endanger stability or civil peace.

“Any movement that could threaten stability, civil peace or lead to attacks on public or private property will not be tolerated,” the army said, adding it would act decisively to prevent any disruption to internal stability.

Protesters raised party flags and slogans rejecting what they described as “concessions and normalization with Israel,” insisting that “the resistance’s weapons are what liberate the land.”

Security coordination

Amid fears of escalation, President Joseph Aoun convened a security meeting at Baabda Palace attended by Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Michel Menassa and Interior Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar to review measures aimed at maintaining stability.

Salam also chaired a meeting at the Grand Serail with the defense and interior ministers, Lebanese Armed Forces Commander Gen. Rodolphe Haykal and Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Raed Abdallah to discuss the implementation of cabinet decisions to maintain security in Beirut.

The army and Internal Security Forces deployed heavily across central Beirut, including elite units, and set up checkpoints at key entry points including Hamra and Spears. Patrols were also conducted near displacement centers and in mixed sectarian neighborhoods.

Al-Hajjar said peaceful protest is permitted under the law but stressed that security forces have taken all necessary measures to protect state institutions and ensure the safety of Beirut and its residents. He called for “responsibility, awareness and national unity at this delicate stage.”

Ahead of a second rally on Saturday afternoon near the Grand Serail, security forces expanded their deployment across Beirut.

A security source said there would be “no tolerance for any attempt to undermine security or threaten civil peace,” describing stability as a “red line” and warning that any destabilization would be met with a firm response.