Yemeni women, girls facing ‘perfect storm’ of hunger, violence, UN officials tell Security Council

A Yemeni woman cooks on an outdoor clay stove at a makeshift camp in the northern Hajjah province. (File/AFP)
A Yemeni woman cooks on an outdoor clay stove at a makeshift camp in the northern Hajjah province. (File/AFP)
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Updated 06 March 2025
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Yemeni women, girls facing ‘perfect storm’ of hunger, violence, UN officials tell Security Council

A Yemeni woman cooks on an outdoor clay stove at a makeshift camp in the northern Hajjah province. (File/AFP)
  • Women first to bear the brunt of rising conflict, aid shortfall, humanitarian chief warns
  • 9.6m women, girls need life-saving assistance amid collapsing healthcare system, meeting told

NEW YORK: UN officials on Thursday warned of growing challenges in Yemen amid severe cuts in aid funding and a rising risk of renewed conflict, warning that Yemeni women and girls are bearing the brunt of the escalation.

Tom Fletcher, the UN’s under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, painted a grim picture of the humanitarian situation in Yemen, emphasizing the devastating impact, particularly on women and girls.

He said that both the gravity of the crisis and growing constraints on humanitarian work have worsened, adding that “now severe funding cuts have been a body blow to our work to save lives.

“It is, of course, for individual countries to decide how to spend their money. But it is the pace at which so much vital work has been shut down that adds to the perfect storm that we face.”

Fletcher told a meeting of the Security Council to discuss developments in Yemen that over 9.6 million women and girls are in desperate need of life-saving assistance, facing extreme hunger, violence, and a collapsing healthcare system.

The humanitarian crisis is compounded by Yemen’s maternal mortality rate, the highest in the Middle East. With 1.3 million pregnant women and new mothers suffering from malnutrition, the future of many young children is at serious risk, Fletcher said.

Additionally, 1.5 million girls are out of school, perpetuating the cycle of poverty and violence. The worsening lack of funds has already led to the closure of 22 safe spaces, depriving over 11,000 women and girls of critical services and support.

“As your funding for Yemen evaporates, the numbers in my next briefings will be worse,” warned Fletcher.

“What does that mean for the women and girls behind those numbers? More will die. More will be left with no choice but to adopt dangerous coping mechanisms: survival sex, begging, coerced prostitution, human trafficking, and selling their children.”

He emphasized the vital role of women in Yemen’s recovery and humanitarian response, citing examples of women-led organizations that are crucial to delivering services despite the funding shortfall.

The humanitarian chief asked council members to “back our effort to get access to civilians at greatest risk; the money to save as many lives as we can; and public and private pressure to release humanitarians who have been arbitrarily detained while working to deliver your instructions.”

He warned: “This is a tough time to be a humanitarian. But it is much tougher for the people we serve. And, right now, it is getting even tougher for the women and girls of Yemen.

“The decisions you take will determine whether it gets worse.”

Meanwhile, Hans Grundberg, the UN special envoy for Yemen, has warned against the rising rhetoric from the conflict’s warring parties, which could further destabilize the region.

While large-scale ground operations have not resumed since the UN-mediated truce of April 2022, military activity persists, with reports of shelling, drone attacks, infiltration attempts, and mobilization campaigns, more recently witnessed in Marib, as well as in other areas such as Al-Jawf, Shabwa, and Ta’iz.

Grundberg called for restraint, urging both sides to avoid military posturing and to focus on creating a conducive environment for peace.

He also noted that the country’s economic collapse, exacerbated by a 50 percent depreciation of the Yemeni riyal and the suspension of civil servant salaries, is driving widespread poverty.

“Words matter. Intent matters. Signals matter. Mixed messaging and escalatory discourse can have real consequences, deepening mistrust and fueling tensions at a time when de-escalation is crucial,” Grundberg said, warning that the deepening crisis and failure to secure a lasting peace deal could plunge Yemen back into full-scale conflict.

Grundberg again emphasized the necessity of a Yemeni-led peace process, focusing on a nationwide ceasefire and political compromises.

“The path to peace requires difficult concessions, particularly on the country’s economic situation, and an inclusive political process,” he said.

As the month of Ramadan begins, Grundberg also called for the immediate and unconditional release of detainees, including humanitarian workers, many of whom remain arbitrarily detained by the Houthi rebel group. He expressed deep frustration with the continued detentions, stressing the importance of protecting the space for peace negotiations and humanitarian work.

The Security Council meeting comes ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, with both officials recognizing the disproportionate impact the conflict continues to have on women and girls in Yemen.

With Yemen’s future uncertain, both officials called on the international community to urgently address the humanitarian disaster, stressing that without immediate action, the situation will continue to worsen for Yemen’s most vulnerable populations.


Iraq drone attacks wound 5 Kurdish security personnel

Iraq drone attacks wound 5 Kurdish security personnel
Updated 29 April 2025
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Iraq drone attacks wound 5 Kurdish security personnel

Iraq drone attacks wound 5 Kurdish security personnel

IRBIL: Five Iraqi Kurdish security personnel were wounded in two drone attacks in northern Iraq in less than 48 hours, authorities in the autonomous Kurdistan region said on Tuesday.

Authorities blamed a “terrorist group” for the separate attacks in a region that has seen repeated clashes between Turkish forces and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party. 

“A terrorist group launched two separate drone attacks yesterday (Monday) and this morning targeting peshmerga bases” in Dohuk province, the region’s security council said. The attacks wounded five peshmerga, it added.

Kamran Othman of the US-based Community Peacemakers Teams, who monitor Turkish operations in Iraqi Kurdistan, confirmed the attacks but was unable to identify the perpetrators.

He added that the peshmerga were establishing a new post in a “sensitive area” that has long been the site of tension between the PKK and Turkish forces. There was no immediate claim for the attacks, which came weeks after the PKK announced a ceasefire with Turkiye in response to their jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan’s historic call to the group to dissolve and disarm.

Blacklisted as a “terrorist group” by the EU and the US, the PKK has fought the Turkish state for most of the past four decades.


US hit more than 1,000 targets in Yemen since mid-March

US hit more than 1,000 targets in Yemen since mid-March
Updated 29 April 2025
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US hit more than 1,000 targets in Yemen since mid-March

US hit more than 1,000 targets in Yemen since mid-March
  • Since March 15, “USCENTCOM strikes have hit over 1,000 targets, killing Houthi fighters and leaders...,” Parnell said
  • CENTCOM on Sunday had put the figure at more than 800 targets

WASHINGTON: US forces have struck more than 1,000 targets in Yemen since Washington launched the latest round of its air campaign against the Houthi militants in mid-March, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
The Houthis began targeting shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in late 2023 and the United States responded with strikes against them starting early the following year.
Since March 15, “USCENTCOM strikes have hit over 1,000 targets, killing Houthi fighters and leaders... and degrading their capabilities,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement, referring to the military command responsible for the Middle East.
CENTCOM on Sunday had put the figure at more than 800 targets hit since mid-March, saying hundreds of Houthi fighters had been killed as a result.
Hours after that announcement, Houthi-controlled media said US strikes had hit a migrant detention center in the city of Saada, killing at least 68 people, while a United Nations spokesperson later said preliminary information indicated that those killed were migrants.
A US defense official said the military is looking into reports of civilian casualties resulting from its strikes in Yemen.
Attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis have prevented ships from passing through the Suez Canal — a vital route that normally carries about 12 percent of the world’s shipping traffic.
The militants say they are targeting shipping in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, which has been devastated by Israel’s military after a shock Hamas attack in October 2023.


Iran fire contained after blast at key port; 70 killed

Iran fire contained after blast at key port; 70 killed
Updated 29 April 2025
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Iran fire contained after blast at key port; 70 killed

Iran fire contained after blast at key port; 70 killed

TEHRAN: Firefighters have brought under control a blaze at Iran’s main port, following a deadly explosion blamed on negligence, authorities said.

The explosion, heard dozens of kilometers away, hit a dock at the southern port of Shahid Rajaee on Saturday.

At least 70 people were killed and more than 1,000 others suffered injuries in the blast and ensuing fire, which also caused extensive damage, state media reported.

Red Crescent official Mokhtar Salahshour told the channel that the fire had been “contained” and a clean-up was underway.

State television aired live footage on Tuesday showing thick smoke rising from stacked containers.

Iran’s ILNA news agency quoted Hossein Zafari, spokesman for the country’s crisis management organization, as saying the situation had improved significantly since Monday.

However, “the operation and complete extinguishing process may take around 15 to 20 days,” the agency reported.

Iran’s customs authority said port operations had returned to normal, according to the IRNA news agency.

The port of Shahid Rajaee lies near the major coastal city of Bandar Abbas on the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which one-fifth of global oil output passes.

Hormozgan provincial governor Mohammad Ashouri ruled out sabotage.

“The set of hypotheses and investigations carried out during the process indicated that the sabotage theory lacks basis or relevance,” he told state television.

The port’s customs office said the blast may have started in a depot storing hazardous and chemical materials.

Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni said there were “shortcomings, including noncompliance with safety precautions and negligence.”


Gaza’s vital community kitchens may soon shut, halt free meals

Gaza’s vital community kitchens may soon shut, halt free meals
Updated 29 April 2025
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Gaza’s vital community kitchens may soon shut, halt free meals

Gaza’s vital community kitchens may soon shut, halt free meals
  • Malnutrition cases rising, hitting children, pregnant women as critical lifeline faces threat

CAIRO/GAZA/GENEVA: It took five hours of queuing at a community kitchen in Gaza’s Nuseirat district for displaced grandmother Um Mohammad Al-Talalqa to get one meal to feed her hungry children and grandchildren.

But finding food may be about to get even tougher: Gaza’s community kitchens — lifelines for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians after 18 months of war — may soon have no more meals to provide.

Multiple aid groups said that dozens of local community kitchens risk closing down, potentially within days, unless aid is allowed into Gaza, removing the last consistent source of meals for most of the 2.3 million population.

“We are suffering from famine, real famine,” said Talalqa, whose house in the Gaza town of Mughraqa was destroyed by Israel. “I have not eaten anything since this morning.”

At the Al-Salam Oriental Food community kitchen in Gaza City, Salah Abu Haseera offers what he fears could be one of the last meals for the 20,000 people he and his colleagues serve daily.

“We face huge challenges in keeping going. We may go out of operation within a week, or maybe less,” Abu Haseera told Reuters by phone from Gaza.

Since March 2, Israel has completely cut off all supplies to the 2.3 million residents of the Gaza Strip, and food stockpiled during a ceasefire at the start of the year has all but run out. It is the longest such closure the Gaza Strip has ever faced.

“The community kitchens, which the population in Gaza are relying more on, because there are no other ways to get food, are at a very big risk to shut down,” Juliette Touma, spokesperson for the UN Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, said.

About 10,000 cases of acute malnutrition among children have been identified across Gaza, including 1,600 cases of severe acute malnutrition, since the start of 2025, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a report.

The Gaza Health Ministry said at least 60,000 children were now showing symptoms of malnutrition.

“We are seeing pediatric cases with moderate or severe acute malnutrition, and we are seeing also pregnant, lactating women that have difficulties breastfeeding; they themselves are malnourished or have a very insufficient calorie intake,” Julie Faucon, Medical Coordinator at Doctors Without Borders, said. 

The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said famine is no longer a looming threat and is becoming a reality.

Fifty-two people have died due to hunger and malnutrition, including 50 children, it added.

Abu Haseera said food is being sold at “fictional prices.” Prices have risen 1,400 percent compared to during the ceasefire, the World Food Programme said, adding that its stocks were now depleted.

Israel has previously denied that Gaza is facing a hunger crisis and says there is still enough aid to sustain the enclave’s population, but it has not made clear when and how aid will be resumed. 


Arab League chief says Baghdad summit will bolster Arab solidarity, address Gaza crisis

Arab League chief says Baghdad summit will bolster Arab solidarity, address Gaza crisis
Updated 29 April 2025
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Arab League chief says Baghdad summit will bolster Arab solidarity, address Gaza crisis

Arab League chief says Baghdad summit will bolster Arab solidarity, address Gaza crisis
  • Ahmed Aboul-Gheit met with crown prince of Kuwait at Bayan Palace

LONDON: Kuwait’s Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah received Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, the secretary-general of the Arab League, at Bayan Palace.

Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Abdullah Al-Yahya, permanent representative of the Arab League, Talal Al-Mutairi, and other senior officials, attended the meeting.

Aboul-Gheit is visiting Kuwait, where he delivered a lecture at the Saud Al-Nasser Al-Sabah Kuwait Diplomatic Institute on Tuesday about the challenges of maintaining stability in the Arab region.

He stressed the significance of the upcoming Arab League summit in Baghdad next month to address challenges in the region, most importantly the Israeli war in Gaza, the KUNA agency reported.

He said that the Baghdad summit would be a platform to strengthen Arab solidarity and to address development in Gaza, Syria, Yemen, and Libya. He said assistant secretary-general Hossam Zaki would visit Baghdad to assess the arrangements for the Arab League summit, KUNA reported.

Aboul-Gheit said the Arab League is pursuing diplomatic efforts to promote the two-state solution, an issue expected to be discussed at a conference at the UN in June as part of a Saudi-French initiative aimed at drumming up support for the establishment of a Palestinian state.