Saudi Arabia, UAE announce $500 million aid program for Yemen

Arab News

November 21, 2018

Riyadh, Nov 21: Saudi Arabia and the UAE on Tuesday announced a new initiative, “Imdaad,” in Yemen to address the humanitarian situation in the country, including an additional $500 million aid program. The two countries will each give $250 million in response to the food crisis to support more than 10 million people, said Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, general supervisor at King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief).

The program was announced by Al-Rabeeah at a joint

press conference in Riyadh with UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation Reem Al-Hashimy.

Al-Rabeeah said the new initiative aims to fill the gap of food needs to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people and ensure their access to food and nutrition for children in all regions and governorates of Yemen.

“We will coordinate with UN organizations to deliver aid to those in need in Yemen,” Al-Rabeeah said, adding that the coalition countries had provided $18 billion in aid to help Yemen over three years.

The latest aid package comes after the two countries and Kuwait offered $1.25 billion to the UN’s humanitarian response

plan in Yemen for 2018, according to Al-Rabeeah.

Al-Hashimy expressed her pleasure at being in Riyadh, and her sincere gratitude to Saudi Arabia, and the efforts of King Salman.

She added: “A new initiative to help our brothers in Yemen shows a common vision and one goal. This initiative aims to provide food needs for 10-12 million Yemenis, which are the most affected group.”

She explained that the launch of this initiative comes from the concern to help our brothers in Yemen to meet the difficult humanitarian conditions they live in.

The hope is to improve the lives of the population, especially as they focus on the most affected groups: Malnourished children, children under five, children in schools, women, pregnant women, nursing mothers and their families, as well as the elderly and people who suffer from diseases.

Al-Rabeeah said that the aim is to reach the people of Yemen who are deprived in coordination with international humanitarian organizations, to meet their needs and end their suffering.

He also Indicated that the Arab Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen provided $18 billion in three years to support the Yemeni people, stressing that the Houthi militias have taken over Yemen, including humanitarian aid, where they seized 65 aid ships and 124 relief convoys.

He also pointed out that Saudi Arabia will work only with international organizations that are keen on the interest of the Yemeni people.

Al-Rabeeah said that the biggest challenge is how to reach the deprived while the Houthi militias try to stop that from happening, noting the efforts made by the center to deliver humanitarian aid in Taiz governorate when it was under siege.

The secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Dr. Yousef bin Ahmed Al-Othaimeen, stressed that the new initiative adds to the permanent support of Saudi Arabia and the UAE to the member states of the OIC, which are facing humanitarian crises.

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Israel launches new aggression on residential neighbourhood in Lebanon’s capital, many killed

News Network

November 24,2025

Israel has launched a new act of aggression on a residential neighborhood in Lebanon's capital, Beirut, killing and injuring about two dozen civilians.

The Israeli regime's military said in a statement that its forces carried out a so-called precise strike in a residential apartment in Dahiyeh in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Sunday.

The aggression targeted residential areas, killing at least five people and injuring more than 28 people, Lebanon's Health Ministry said.

Hezbollah announced the martyrdom of senior Hezbollah commander Haytham Ali Tabatabai and four resistance fighters.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun condemned the airstrike, calling it a clear demonstration of Tel Aviv’s disregard for repeated international calls to halt violations on Lebanese soil.

“Israel refuses to implement international resolutions and all efforts aimed at ending the escalation and restoring stability,” Aoun said, urging the international community to take action to prevent further aggression.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement also condemned the attack, holding the international community accountable.

“The international community bears responsibility and continues to provide cover for these attacks as long as it does not restrain the occupiers,” said Ali Abu Shahin, a member of the group’s political bureau.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that the Israeli army carried out a strike “in the heart of Beirut."

Netanyahu reportedly approved the operation following recommendations from top Israeli security officials.

Two senior US officials commented on the Israeli strike.

The first official said that Israel did not notify Americans in advance about the attack. "We were informed immediately after the strike was carried out."

The second senior official said that the "US knew for several days that Israel was planning to escalate its strikes in Lebanon, but did not know in advance the timing, location, or target of the strike."

Speaking from the site of the Israeli strike, Lebanese MP Ali Ammar condemned the attack as part of a broader campaign of aggression that has targeted "all of Lebanon since the Washington-sponsored ceasefire."

He stated that "any attack on Lebanon is a violation of red lines; this aggression is part and parcel of the entity that targets Lebanon's dignity, sovereignty, and security of citizens."

Ammar went on to say the resistance is responding with "utmost wisdom, patience, and will confront the enemy at the appropriate time."

"Unfortunately, the enemy is emboldened to commit its aggression by voices within Lebanon that have turned themselves into tools that support its aggression," he added.

The Israeli attack on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital is the latest blatant violation of the ceasefire Israel signed with Hezbollah in November 2024, which was intended to end hostilities that had escalated into full-scale war.

An Israeli strike on the Ain al-Hilweh camp near Sidon in southern Lebanon late Tuesday killed at least 14 people. It wounded several others, including young students, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

The military claimed the attack targeted “a Hamas training compound” used to plan and carry out attacks against the regime -- a claim that has frequently been made without evidence.

Hamas rejected the allegations as “a blatant lie aimed at justifying the massacre,” stating it had “no military installations in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon” and that the targeted site was merely “an open sports field.”

According to Lebanese authorities, Israeli attacks have killed approximately 4,000 people and displaced more than 1.2 million residents across the country since October 2023.

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