Category: 2. Middle East

Yemen’s Houthis have downed seven US Reaper drones in less than six weeks, the Associated Press has reported, at a cost of over $200 million to the Pentagon.

According to military officials, three of the drones were brought down in the past week alone, as they were carrying out strikes or conducting surveillance missions in Yemen.

A separate defence official stated that while hostile fire is believed to be the main cause of the drone losses, investigations into…

The UN has warned that the Zamzam camp for displaced people in western Sudan is now “almost empty”, less than two weeks after being taken over by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), amid ongoing conflict with the Sudanese army.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement that hundreds of thousands of people had fled the camp due to famine, heading towards nearby areas, especially El-Fasher. This city has been besieged for…

The World Food Programme warned today it is facing a funding shortfall that could affect its ability to support people facing acute food shortages in Sudan within weeks as donor states reduce humanitarian funding, Reuters reports.

The United Nations agency said it has a shortfall in funding of $698 million out of the nearly $800 million it had asked for from donors to help seven million people from May through to September.

There will be shortages of items,…

Yale University has revoked the student group status of Yalies4Palestine following a campus protest against the visit of far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, an event which critics say is further evidence of the growing suppression of pro-Palestinian advocacy and free speech across American universities.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Yalies4Palestine announced: “Today, the Yale Administration revoked Yalies4Palestine’s status as…

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has depleted all its food stocks for families in Gaza, it said in a statement today.

“Today, WFP delivered its last remaining food stocks to hot meals kitchens in the Gaza Strip. These kitchens are expected to fully run out of food in the coming days,” the UN body explained.

For weeks, hot meal kitchens have been the only consistent source of food assistance for people in Gaza. Despite reaching just half the…

Palestinian doctor Dr. Ahmed Al-Najjar was devastated to find both his parents among the victims who arrived at Al-Nasser Medical Complex where he works after an Israeli air strike that targeted a home in Khan Yunis, Anadolu reported.

Al-Najjar was preparing to receive the injured at dawn yesterday when he received a call informing him that the bombing had targeted his family’s home.

“Is my father in pieces, or is he whole? Is his face disfigured?”
Dr…

A top US diplomat for the Middle East yesterday outlined a series of demands that the Syrian leadership must meet in exchange for any potential sanctions relief, signaling Washington’s openness to re-engage if progress is made on key fronts, Anadolu reported.

Tim Lenderking, a senior official in the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs under the Trump administration, detailed the US position during a webinar hosted by the National Council on…