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A coalition airstrike killed 14 civilians and wounded 9 in a residential area in al-Hudaydah. The majority of the victims were women and children trying to escape the heat in their homes. The coalition said these strikes targeted a Houthi military gathering.
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The Houthis reportedly struck a Saudi oil tanker with a missile off the coast of al-Hudaydah. The tanker only sustained minor damage.
The UN, Sweden, and Switzerland co-hosted a pledging conference for Yemen in Geneva, Switzerland. At this event, 40 countries and organizations pledged $2.01 billion in humanitarian aid, which contributes to the UN’s appeal for $2.96 billion.
At the pledging conference, UN secretary general Antonio Guterres encouraged all warring factions to reach a political settlement.
The International Committee of the Red Cross released a statement that international leaders at the pledging conference should recognize that money alone cannot save Yemenis. Humanitarian workers must have unrestricted access to the country, and respect for domestic and international law needs to be promoted.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs released an update on the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. This report revealed that 1.2 million people in need are in highly inaccessible areas of Yemen, and that aerial attacks have dramatically increased in Sa‘dah and al-Jawf.
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Saudi Arabia and The United Arab Emirates pledged $930 million to the UN’s Yemen Humanitarian Fund. This pledge is being called ironic and ethically controversial because these two countries’ military intervention in Yemen has been the main driver of the country’s humanitarian crisis.
Saudi Arabia said its air defense system intercepted a Houthi-fired missile that was targeting Saudi Aramco storage tanks.
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The UN is increasing inspections of ships carrying humanitarian aid into Yemen. The UN and Saudi Arabia said this an effort to reduce military smuggling and to expedite aid delivery. Saudi Arabia has repeatedly been criticized by aid organizations, the UN, and foreign governments for restricting commercial and humanitarian access to Yemen’s ports by imposing its own inspections regime on vessels already cleared by the UN’s inspection mechanism. There is no evidence that arms have ever been smuggled to the Houthis via humanitarian cargo ships.
Muslim clerics and preachers are being assassinated in Aden, and 12 Aden-based political parties and organizations formally accused the UAE of the attacks. Many imams are now quitting or fleeing the country, and graffiti saying “Down with the Emirati occupation” has appeared across the city.
The Houthis threatened to attack Sudan with ballistic missiles last week, and now members of the Sudanese parliament are calling for the withdrawal of Sudanese forces from Yemen.
According to the political party Islah, a political settlement is out of the question unless the Houthis release Islah leader Muhammad Qahtan, who was arrested by the insurgent group in 2015.
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In an ambush, the Houthis killed dozens of Sudanese troops in north western Yemen. This is the largest loss Sudan has suffered since deploying troops to fight with the Saudi-led coalition in 2015.
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The UN special envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, said he believes Oman is critical to promoting peace in Yemen. He is currently in Muscat, and met with the Omani Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs to discuss the war and potential solutions. Griffiths has also reportedly met with a Houthi delegation in Muscat.