UNSC told Yemen risks being caught in spiral of regional violence
Hans Grundberg, the UN special envoy to Yemen, has told the UN Security Council (UNSC) that Yemen’s Houthis and their attacks on Red Sea shipping risk dragging the country further into military escalation in the region.
Grundberg and the UN’s acting humanitarian chief Joyce Msuya called for Houthi attacks in the Red Sea to end.
Addressing UNSC members, Grundberg said that “hopes for a brighter future” in Yemen were “falling under the shadow of potentially catastrophic regional conflagration”.
Houthi fighters have targeted more than 80 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza started a year ago. The Yemen-based group say they are targeting Israeli-owned vessels and ships frequenting Israeli ports in an act of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza amid Israel’s war on the territory.
Msuya said the UN was also “very alarmed” at the ongoing attacks by a US-led military coalition on Yemen’s Hodeidah and the smaller port of Ras Isa.
Delta to pause flights between New York, Tel Aviv until end of March
Delta Air Lines says it will suspend flights between New York’s JFK airport and Tel Aviv through to March 2025 because of the escalating conflict and safety concerns in Israel.
The airline – which had earlier suspended flights to Tel Aviv through to the end of 2024 – said it issued a travel waiver for all customers who were booked on its flights to travel to and from Tel Aviv.
Several airlines have suspended services to Israel and Lebanon, while also revising schedules to avoid Iranian and Lebanese airspace, in an attempt to ensure passenger safety as security concerns rise in the region.
‘There will always be deliveries’: Germany assures Israel of arms supplies
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has promised Israel further arms deliveries for its ongoing military offensives in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
“There are deliveries and there will always be further deliveries. Israel can rely on that,” Scholz said in remarks to parliament. The chancellor said Germany must keep Israel “in a position to defend its country”.
“Israel can rely on our solidarity – now and in the future,” he added.
Scholz said humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza is still needed, and rules of international law had to be observed in conflicts in the Middle East.
Always on the wrong side of history...
