Save the Children to Suspend Operations Over Death of Staff Member in Houthi Prison in Sanaa
On Thursday, the Save the Children organization announced the suspension of its operations in areas controlled by the Houthi group following the death of its Security and Safety Officer, Hisham Al-Hakimi, in the Houthi security and intelligence prison in Sanaa, Yemen. The organization stated in a press release, "It is with great sorrow that we confirm the passing of one of our employees who died while in detention in Yemen, and we call for an immediate independent investigation." The organization confirmed that the Director of the Security and Safety Department in its Yemen office, Al-Hakimi, was arrested on September 9 outside his working hours at the organization. It added, "Despite repeated attempts by his family, legal representatives, and a team from Save the Children, no one was able to see or communicate with him throughout his entire period of detention."It also said authorities in Sanaa did not give reasons for his detention. Given these circumstances, the organization said it will soon suspend its operations in North Yemen. Al-Hakimi, 44, is a father of four and has been working with the Save the Children family since 2006.
Rashad Al-Alimi, the head of the Presidential Council, visited some of the devastated areas affected by the tropical cyclone Tej that hit Al-Mahra province over the last three days. The state-run Saba News Agency reported that Al-Alimi and Al-Mahra governor Mohammed Ali Yasser, surveyed the damage to the infrastructure, public roads, bridges that were affected. The Ministry of Interior announced on Thursday that four deaths and extensive damage to roads and property in Al-Mahra Governorate as a result of Cyclone Tej. The Security Media Center of the Ministry of Interior said that the General Administration of Command and Control recorded three deaths and the loss of an unidentified body. The cyclone wounded 150 others and displaced over 10,000 citizens in Al-Mahra over the last three days.
Israeli ground forces carried out a big raid into Gaza overnight against Hamas targets amid growing anger in the Arab world over Israel's relentless bombardment of the besieged Palestinian territory. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said Israeli troops were still preparing for a full ground invasion, while the US and other countries urged Israel to delay such action, fearing it could ignite hostilities on other Middle East fronts. The UN agency providing aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza said it may have to shut down operations very soon if no fuel reaches the Hamas-ruled territory amid a desperate need for shelter, water, food and medical services. Israel has for nearly three weeks bombarded the densely populated Gaza Strip following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israeli communities. Israel says Hamas killed some 1,400 people and took more than 200 hostage. Gaza's health ministry said on Thursday that 7,028 Palestinians had been killed in the retaliatory air strikes, including 2,913 children.
Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman held talks with his British counterpart, Grant Shapps, in Riyadh on Wednesday, during which they discussed strategic relations between their countries and ways to bolster military and defense cooperation. They also reviewed the latest developments in Israel's increasing military operations in Gaza, and Prince Khalid emphasized the need to deescalate the conflict, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
