UN official warns against further escalation amid attacks in Yemen, Israel and the Red Sea

Briefing the Security Council in New York, Assistant Secretary-General for Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, Khaled Khiari, warned the Middle East was witnessing another dangerous escalation.

He said that attacks in Israel and Yemen, as well as in the Red Sea, are of grave concern, and warned that further military escalation could jeopardize regional stability, with adverse political, security, economic and humanitarian repercussions.

“We must do our utmost to reverse this negative trajectory and support comprehensive efforts to end conflicts in the Middle East,” he said.

“We must preserve a path toward sustainable peace and stability that benefits all the peoples of the region.”

Attacks on the rise

The latest developments follow a year of increasing Houthi attacks targeting Israel as well as vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Since 13 December, the Houthis have claimed at least 11 attacks targeting Israel, using ballistic missiles and Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), he said.

Israel in turn carried out airstrikes on 19 December that targeted energy and port infrastructure in the Houthi-controlled ports of Hudaydah, Salif, Ra’s Isa and the capital, Sana’a. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) claimed it was hitting military targets.

Mr. Khiari told the Council that nine civilians were reportedly killed, while Red Sea ports suffered considerable damage, thus reducing their capacity. Israel also struck two power stations in two districts of Sana’a, causing temporary power distributions there and in Hudaydah.

Damage and casualties

Continuing, the senior official said that while many missiles and other projectiles fired by the Houthis have been intercepted, an elementary school in Ramat Gan, located in central Israel, was damaged by a missile warhead on 20 December.

A day later, another missile landed in a residential neighbourhood in Jaffa causing damage to nearby homes and 16 civilian injuries, including a three-year-old child.

The IDF conducted airstrikes on 26 December that targeted Sana’a International Airport, the Red Sea ports on Yemen’s western coast, in addition to power stations in Sana’a and Hudaydah which it said were being used for military purposes

“The risks of disruption to vital humanitarian operations at a time when millions of people in Yemen are in need of life-saving assistance are of grave concern,” said Mr. Khiari.

UN in the crosshairs

He noted that the 26 December strikes have reportedly resulted in at least six killed and dozens injured, while a crew member with the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) was also injured when the airport was hit.

Moreover, a high-level UN delegation headed by the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, was also at the airport at this time. The delegation had just concluded discussions on the humanitarian situation in Yemen and the release of UN and other personnel detained by the Houthis.

In this regard, the UN continues to call for the immediate and unconditional release of all UN and other personnel arbitrarily detained by the rebels.

Grave concern

Mr. Khiari reiterated the UN Secretary-General’s grave concern about intensified escalation.

“I also echo his calls that international law, including humanitarian law as applicable, must be respected by all parties,” he added. “We appeal to all to respect and protect civilians and civilian infrastructure. Humanitarian workers must be protected at all times.”

He said the UN condemns attacks claimed by the Houthis, including on the vessel the Santa Ursula in the Arabian Sea on 27 December.

United States forces targeted Houthi military facilities and weapons systems in Yemen on 16 and 21 December reportedly in response to the group’s maritime attacks. There have also been unconfirmed reports of airstrikes on 27, 28 and 29 December in different parts of Yemen.

“We reiterate that attacks originating from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen must stop,” he said, while calling for Security Council Resolution 2722 (2024) to be fully respected.

The resolution was adopted in January and demands that all attacks in the Red Sea must cease.

USA: ‘Past time for Houthis to cease reckless behaviour’

Speaking for the United States of America, Dorothy Shea, Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, condemned the latest Houthi attacks on Israel and underlined American support for Israel's right to self-defence.

Ms. Shea reiterated the U.S. call for the Security Council to consider additional actions to respond to the growing threats from the Houthis and to hold Iran to account.

“The United States will not hesitate to protect its own personnel, regional partners and international shipping,” warned the diplomat, going on to provide details of the US military operations on 16 and 21 December which targeted Houthi infrastructure, uncrewed aerial vehicles and missiles.

These actions, she said, were “consistent with international law and were an exercise of the United States inherent right to self-defence”.

Israel must coordinate operations

It is “critical”, said Ms. Shea, that Israel coordinate their military operations, and ensure that they do not threaten the lives of civilians or civilian infrastructure.

She said that the US was thankful that Tedros Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, and his team were safe, after the Israeli strike that hit Sana’a airport on Thursday, destroying the air traffic control tower, reportedly killing three people. The UN, continued the US official, is delivering critical aid to the Yemeni people, facing “perilous circumstances.”

“It is past time for the Houthis to cease their reckless and destabilizing behaviour, and this Council should ensure that there are consequences for their actions”.

United Kingdom: ‘No justification’ for Houthi attacks

There is “no justification” for the continued Houthi missile and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) attacks against Israel and targeting of international shipping in the Red Sea, stated Barbara Woodward, the Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the UN.

The Houthi aggression, declared Ms. Woodward, risks regional escalation, and is worsening the already dire humanitarian and economic conditions inside Yemen. The ambassador added that Iran has plauy a role in fuelling this escalation, and bears responsibility for the actions of its proxies.

Referring to the Israeli attack on Sana’a airport, Ms. Woodward declared that Israeli action must be consistent with their obligations under international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians.

Russia: Threats to civilians ‘unacceptable’

Russia’s Ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, condemned the Houthi missile attacks against Israel on 19 and 20 December and emphasized that threats to civilians and civilian infrastructure are “unacceptable”.

However, Mr. Nebenzia described the military response as “clearly not proportional” and also worthy of condemnation, and he called on all parties involved in actions against Yemen to exercise restraint and to avoid escalatory action.

The senior Russian diplomat said that January marks a year of Western “illegitimate military action” against Yemen which is “sowing more and more destruction in this country” and is “yet another military aggression being waged by the collective West against a sovereign state”.

Progress on the political track, argued Mr. Nebenzia, will lead to a reduction and eventual cessation of military activities on the part of the Houthi Ansar Allah organization.

Israel: ‘We have had enough’

Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon said he was shocked to the core to learn that the school in his hometown, Ramat Gan, that he had attended as a child was struck by a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis.

He also recalled that a three-year-old was critically injured in another attack on a playground in Jaffa.

“What would you do if it were your child, your school, your city? Because this isn't just my story. It's Israel's story. It's a story we are living every single day. We have had enough,” he said.

Mr. Danon told the Council that for more than a year, the Houthis have “unleashed almost 300 unprovoked missile and drone attacks targeting Israeli civilians and communities,” which he called “systematic, calculated terror”.

Holding up a map, he noted that Yemen is some 2,000 kilometres (roughly 1,500 miles) away from Israel and the two countries do not even share a border.

“We have no dispute with them, yet they send their missiles and their drones to murder our people. And why? Pure radical jihadist hatred for Jews,” he said.