RIYADH: The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) signed six agreements worth $3 million with various organizations in Riyadh on Tuesday to help Yemenis displaced and injured by Houthi rebel actions.
Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, the supervisor general of the center and adviser to the royal court, signed the agreements in the presence of Saudi Ambassador to Yemen Mohammed Al-Jabir, who is also the executive director of the Comprehensive Humanitarian Operations of the Support Center in Yemen.
Dr. Al-Rabeeah told Arab News that the agreements were for six projects to help Yemenis affected by rebel atrocities. The programs, he said, would include the third and fourth phase of the rehabilitation projects, renewal of contracts with the operations centers in Maarib in Yemen and also treatment of patients in two hospitals in Yemen and two in the Kingdom.
According to a statement, the total number of injured Yemenis has reached 4,423, with 800 currently in need of medical treatment.
Some of the injured need artificial limbs and some need treatment for their eyes, which will be carried out by Al-Magrabi hospitals in the Kingdom.
Some 80 child soldiers are being rehabilitated at various centers and the total cost of the rehabilitation program has reached about $209,350.
KSRelief has targeted areas such as Maarib province, Al-Jouf, Imran, Sanaa, and Dimaar for the rehabilitation of child soldiers rescued from the Houthi rebels.
According to Al-Rabeeah, these child soldiers are being helped to reintegrate into society and lead a normal life. An awareness campaign is being carried out among the Yemeni people and the parents of these children to treat them with understanding and guide them back to society.
Yemen ambassador Al-Jabir told Arab News that the assistance provided by the center was not only in supplying foods, medicines and clothes to distressed Yemenis. He said that Iran-backed Houthi rebels had destroyed the peaceful life of Yemenis in their homeland.
There are some 2 million Yemenis working in the Kingdom and they send more than $10 million to their families in Yemen. The Kingdom, he said, had opened certain points, including an airbridge, to enable organizations to transport relief goods, whether government-controlled or Houthi-controlled goods, to reach people in need.
To boost the economy of Yemen, the envoy said that the Kingdom has funded its Central Bank with $2 billion and another $1.5 billion has been given to UN organizations to help distressed Yemenis.
KSRelief signs six accords worth $3 million to help displaced Yemenis
KSRelief signs six accords worth $3 million to help displaced Yemenis
Saudi Cabinet condemns ‘blatant’ Iranian aggression; affirms Kingdom’s right to respond to threats
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has warned it reserves the “full right” to respond to Iranian aggression following a series of “blatant and cowardly” strikes targeting the capital and the Eastern Province.
The warning came during a late-night Cabinet session on Tuesday, chaired by Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman via videoconference, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
During the session, the Cabinet “reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s full solidarity with the brotherly countries whose territories were subjected to blatant Iranian aggression”, signaling a united front against regional threats.
The session followed a dramatic escalation of hostilities, including a direct drone attack on the US Embassy in Riyadh.
Major General Turki al-Malki, spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense, confirmed that while air defenses intercepted multiple threats, the embassy compound sustained a “limited fire and minor material damage.”
General Al-Malki further announced that Saudi forces successfully intercepted and destroyed eight additional drones targeting the cities of Riyadh and Al-Kharj early Tuesday morning.
In a sharp rebuke of the embassy strike, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) cited a flagrant violation of the 1949 Geneva Convention and the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
“The repetition of this flagrant Iranian behavior... will push the region toward further escalation,” the Ministry stated, underscoring that these provocations occurred despite Riyadh’s explicit policy of not allowing its airspace or territory to be used as a launchpad for strikes against Iran.
Global condemnation and solidarity
The Cabinet expressed deep appreciation for the wave of international support as world leaders condemned Tehran’s “indiscriminate” behavior.
In a joint show of force, the US and GCC member states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE) along with Jordan stood united, labeling the strikes a “dangerous escalation” and reaffirming a collective right to self-defense.
Leaders from the United Kingdom, France, and India. — including Prime Minister Narendra Modi — voiced strong solidarity with the Kingdom. The UK government confirmed its forces are engaged in “defensive actions” to maintain regional stability.
Amid the heightened military tension, the Cabinet reviewed the Kingdom’s hospitality efforts for GCC citizens currently stranded at Saudi airports due to regional airspace closures. The crown prince reaffirmed that the state would mobilize all capabilities to support brotherly nations in any measures they take to restore regional peace and stability.
