logo
More than 17 million people in Yemen are going hungry, including over 1 million children, UN says

More than 17 million people in Yemen are going hungry, including over 1 million children, UN says

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — More than 17 million people in conflict-torn Yemen are going hungry, including over a million children under the age of 5 who are suffering from 'life-threatening acute malnutrition,' the United Nations humanitarian chief said Wednesday.
Tom Fletcher told the U.N. Security Council that the food security crisis in the Arab world's poorest country, which is beset by civil war, has been accelerating since late 2023.
The number of people going hungry could climb to over 18 million by September, he warned, and the number of children with acute malnutrition could surge to 1.2 million early next year, 'leaving many at risk of permanent physical and cognitive damage.'
Fletcher said the U.N. hasn't seen the current level of deprivation since before a U.N.-brokered truce in early 2022. He noted that it is unfolding as global funding for humanitarian aid is plummeting, which means reductions or cuts in food. According to the U.N., as of mid-May, the U.N.'s $2.5 billion humanitarian appeal for Yemen this year had received just $222 million, just 9%.
Yemen has been embroiled in civil war since 2014, when Iranian-backed Houthi rebels seized the capital of Sanaa, forcing the internationally recognized government into exile in Saudi Arabia. A Saudi-led coalition intervened months later and has been battling the rebels since 2015 to try and restore the government.
The war has devastated Yemen, created one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters, and turned into a stalemated proxy conflict. More than 150,000 people, including fighters and civilians, have been killed.
Hans Grundberg, the U.N. special envoy for Yemen, told the council in a video briefing that two Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea this week – the first in over seven months – and Israeli airstrikes on the capital and key ports are escalating the conflict.
The Houthis have vowed to keep targeting vessels in the key waterway until the war in Gaza ends.
Grundberg said freedom of navigation in the Red Sea must be safeguarded and stressed that 'Yemen must not be drawn deeper into regional crises that threaten to unravel the already extremely fragile situation in the country.'
'The stakes for Yemen are simply too high,' he said. 'Yemen's future depends on our collective resolve to shield it from further suffering and to give its people the hope and dignity they so deeply deserve.'
Grundberg warned that a military solution to the civil war 'remains a dangerous illusion that risks deepening Yemen's suffering.'
Negotiations offer the best hope to address the complex conflict, he said, and the longer it is drawn out 'there is a risk that divisions could deepen further.'
Grundberg said both sides must signal a willingness to explore peaceful avenues — and an important signal would be the release of all conflict-related detainees. The parties have agreed to an all-for-all release, he said, but the process has stagnated for over a year.
___
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

US aware of reported death of American after beating by Israeli settlers
US aware of reported death of American after beating by Israeli settlers

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

US aware of reported death of American after beating by Israeli settlers

By Kanishka Singh and Menna AlaaElDin WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. State Department said on Friday it was aware of the reported death of a U.S. citizen in the Israeli-occupied West Bank after reports emerged of Israeli settlers fatally beating a Palestinian American. Palestinian news agency WAFA, citing the local health ministry, said Saif al-Din Kamel Abdul Karim Musallat, aged in his 20s, died after he was beaten by Israeli settlers on Friday evening in an attack that also injured many people in a town north of Ramallah. Relatives of Musallat, who was from Tampa, Florida, were also quoted by the Washington Post as saying he was beaten to death by Israeli settlers. "We are aware of reports of the death of a U.S. citizen in the West Bank," a State Department spokesperson said, adding the department had no further comment "out of respect for the privacy of the family and loved ones" of the reported victim. The Israeli military said Israel was probing the incident in the town of Sinjil. It said rocks were hurled at Israelis near Sinjil and that "a violent confrontation developed in the area". Israel has expanded and consolidated settlements in the West Bank as part of the steady integration of these territories into the state of Israel in breach of international law, the U.N. human rights office said in March. Settler violence in the West Bank, including incursions into occupied territory and raids, has intensified since the start of Israel's war in Gaza in late 2023. Israel's military offensive has killed over 57,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gaza's health ministry, and led to accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and of war crimes at the International Criminal Court. Israel denies the accusations and says it is fighting in self-defense after the October 2023 Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. Israeli killings of U.S. citizens in the West Bank in recent years include those of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, Palestinian American teenager Omar Mohammad Rabea and Turkish American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi. The United Nations' highest court said last year Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there were illegal and should be withdrawn as soon as possible.

Trump Signals Support for New Israel Attack if Iran Moves Toward Bomb
Trump Signals Support for New Israel Attack if Iran Moves Toward Bomb

Wall Street Journal

time3 hours ago

  • Wall Street Journal

Trump Signals Support for New Israel Attack if Iran Moves Toward Bomb

WASHINGTON—Sitting across from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday at the White House, President Trump said he hoped there would be no more U.S. bombing of Iran. 'I can't imagine wanting to do that,' Trump said. Netanyahu later told him in private, however, that if Iran resumed moving toward a nuclear weapon, Israel would carry out further military strikes. Trump responded that he favored a diplomatic settlement with Tehran, but didn't otherwise object to the Israeli plan.

Israeli settlers beat to death US citizen in West Bank, family says
Israeli settlers beat to death US citizen in West Bank, family says

Yahoo

time3 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Israeli settlers beat to death US citizen in West Bank, family says

Israeli settlers have beaten to death a United States citizen in the occupied West Bank, the victim's family members and rights groups have said. Settlers attacked and killed Sayfollah Musallet – who was in his early 20s – in the town of Sinjil, north of Ramallah, on Friday, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Musallet, also known as Saif al-Din Musalat, had travelled from his home in Florida to visit family in Palestine, his cousin Fatmah Muhammad said in a social media post. Another Palestinian, identified by the Health Ministry as Mohammed Shalabi, was fatally shot by settlers during the attack. Rights advocates have documented repeated instances where Israeli settlers in the West Bank ransack Palestinian neighbourhoods and towns, burning homes and vehicles in attacks sometimes described as pogroms. The Israeli military often protects the settlers during their rampages and has shot Palestinians who show any resistance. The United Nations and other prominent human rights organisations consider the Israeli settlements in the West Bank violations of international law, as part of a broader strategy to displace some Western countries like France and Australia have imposed sanctions on violent settlers, attacks have increased since the outbreak of Israel's war in Gaza in October 2023. When Donald Trump took office earlier this year, his administration revoked sanctions on settlers imposed by his predecessor, Joe Biden. Israeli forces have killed at least nine US citizens since 2022, including veteran Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh. But none of the incidents have resulted in criminal charges. The US provides billions of dollars to Israel every year. Advocates have accused successive US administrations of failing to protect American citizens from Israeli violence in the Middle East. On Friday, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called on Washington to ensure accountability for the killing of Musallet. 'Every other murder of an American citizen has gone unpunished by the American government, which is why the Israeli government keeps wantonly killing American Palestinians and, of course, other Palestinians,' CAIR deputy director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said in a statement. He then pointed out that Trump has repeatedly promised to prioritise American interests, as typified by his campaign slogan 'America First'. 'If President Trump will not even put America first when Israel murders American citizens, then this is truly an Israel First administration,' Mitchell said. The Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) also called for action from the US administration, noting that settlers are 'lynching Palestinians more frequently – with full support from Israel's army and government'. 'The US government has a legal and moral obligation to stop Israel's racist violence against Palestinians. Instead, it's still backing and funding it,' the group said in a US Department of State did not respond to Al Jazeera's request for comment about the killing of Musallet. The Palestinian group Hamas condemned the murder of Musallet, describing it as 'barbaric', and called on Palestinians across the West Bank to rise up to 'confront the settlers and their terrorist attacks'. Israel said it was 'investigating' what happened in Sinjil, claiming that the violence started when Palestinians threw rocks at an Israeli vehicle. 'Shortly thereafter, violent clashes developed in the area between Palestinians and Israeli civilians, which included the destruction of Palestinian property, arson, physical confrontations, and stone-throwing,' the Israeli military said in a statement. Israeli investigations often lead to no charges or meaningful accountability for the abuses of Israeli officers and settlers. As settler and military violence intensifies in the West Bank, Israel has killed at least 57,762 Palestinians in Gaza in a campaign that rights groups have described as a genocide.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store