UN human rights office verifies 262 civilian casualties in Yemen since the start of August, 66 of them deaths

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that the UN human rights office has verified 262 civilians killed or wounded in Yemen since the start of August. Of these, 66 were killed and 196 were injured. More than half of the 262 were children. The sources do not say who carried out the attacks or where most of them took place.

The humanitarian office said the conflict still hampers the aid response. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told his daily press conference that access to the city of Taiz is severely restricted. He said the World Food Programme has had to switch from handing out food to giving cash in the city because of the access problems. The agency aims to reach about 132 thousand people in four neighbourhoods of Taiz this week alone. Dujarric said the cash would let families buy emergency supplies where these are available. He added that few supplies are reaching the city, so the price of basic goods is rising fast. He repeated the call on all parties to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, to respect international humanitarian law, and to allow aid and essential commercial goods to reach Taiz safely.

At a press conference at UN headquarters in New York, Secretary-General António Guterres said fighting is growing around Taiz and in other parts of Yemen. He said conflicts are no longer just intensifying but spreading. He compared this to El Niño, the climate disturbance that upsets weather far from where it starts. He said the effects travel through energy markets, shipping routes and supply chains. According to UN News, he linked tensions around the Strait of Hormuz to the war between the United States and Iran. Guterres said homes, hospitals, schools, airports and energy facilities are being attacked, and he recalled that international law forbids attacks on civilians and civilian objects.

Guterres condemned continuing Houthi attacks on civilian targets in Saudi Arabia, which he called totally unacceptable. He said restraint is needed and that Yemen needs a political horizon. He said he spoke this week with the head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, and that his special envoy continues talks with the parties.

On the occupied West Bank, the Secretary-General said Israeli settlers attack Palestinians daily, with the clear aim of driving communities off their land. UN News reported, citing the UN, that more than 160 settler attacks linked to the olive harvest caused casualties or damage there. It also cited press reports that an American photojournalist and European diplomats were attacked, and that Israeli police made ten arrests, of which nine suspects have since been released and placed under house arrest. UN News did not attribute those details to a UN body.

On Gaza, Guterres criticised Israeli restrictions on aid and obstacles to carrying out the peace plan approved by the Security Council. The World Food Programme, a UN agency, has cut its help in Gaza by a third and halved the number of people it assists in the West Bank. It is asking for 450 million dollars to keep working in both territories for the next six months. Guterres said that sum equals what the world spends on its armies in about 90 minutes.

Guterres is due to travel to Egypt. He said Egypt is one of the mediators in the conflict between the United States and Iran. The sources do not say whether the United States has responded to his remarks.