Military escalation in Gaza and Yemen: deaths in Israeli raids and severe human losses among the Houthis

Health officials in Gaza said that at least two Palestinians were killed in an air strike launched by Israel on the Strip today (Wednesday), while Israel said that the raid targeted a financial official in the Hamas movement.

Medics said that the two men, Osama Abu Khater and Muhammad Abu Alwan, were killed when an Israeli air strike targeted a vehicle in the west of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip. They added that two other people were injured, according to Reuters.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement that the Israeli army killed Muhammad Abu Alwan in Khan Yunis, and described him as a senior financial official in Hamas.

The joint statement said: “We will not allow Hamas to regain its power, and we will not stop until Hamas is removed from Gaza.” The Palestinian movement has not made any comment yet.

The Palestinian authorities stated that more than 73,000 people were killed in the military campaign launched by Israel on Gaza, in response to the Hamas-led attack on it on October 7, 2023.

The ceasefire, which was reached last year under American mediation, provides for the eventual reconstruction of the Strip, but little progress has been made with the failure of negotiators to reach an agreement on the terms of the disarmament of Hamas and the withdrawal of Israel, which is still continuing its air strikes.

Health officials in the Strip said that at least 1,400 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect, while the Israeli army says four of its soldiers were killed in the same period. Israel and Hamas exchange accusations of responsibility for violating the ceasefire agreement.

The latest health and field data in Yemen revealed a sharp increase in human losses resulting from the military escalation initiated by the Houthis during recent weeks, with thousands of deaths and injuries recorded, coinciding with the influx of large numbers of bodies into areas under the group’s control, especially Dhamar Governorate. The death toll exceeded the capacity of health facilities to absorb it.

The World Health Organization said that it recorded 3,672 deaths and injuries in Yemen during the period from August 6 to September 18, including 674 dead and 2,998 injured, at a time when it warned of the continued high rate of human losses, as fighting continues on a number of fronts.

The organization explained that during the period between September 13 and 18 alone, 680 new victims were recorded, including 164 dead and 516 injured, noting that the number of daily victims ranged during that period between 78 and 195 people, equivalent at its highest levels to about 194 victims per day.

These numbers indicate the increasing pressure on the Yemeni health system, at a time when the scope of confrontations is expanding in western Taiz and Lahj, in parallel with the continuation of military operations in Marib and other areas, and the accompanying continuous flow of dead and wounded to health facilities.

According to the World Health Organization, Lahj Governorate topped the list of areas with the most casualties during the last six days of the period covered by the report. In Al-Mudaraba and Ras Al-Ara districts, 284 casualties were reported, including 58 dead and 226 injured. Ma'rib came in second place with 277 casualties, while Taiz recorded 103 casualties, in addition to casualties in Al-Jawf, Shabwa, and Al-Dhalea governorates.

These losses coincide with the intensification of confrontations in the western regions of Taiz and the strategic Kahboub front in Lahj. Violent battles take place in mountainous areas overlooking the vicinity of Bab al-Mandab. According to Yemeni military sources, the western Taiz and Lahj fronts witnessed continuous attrition among the Houthi ranks, with large numbers of the group’s members falling during daily confrontations, including field and security leaders who were pushed by the group to the front lines during the recent escalation.

The sources say that among those recently killed was the Houthi leader Muhammad Al-Awir, known as “Abu Malik,” who held the rank of colonel and was the security director of the Al-Udayn District in Ibb Governorate, before he was transferred to the fronts west of Taiz and Lahj. She explained that Al-Awir comes from Saada Governorate, and had previously assumed a number of security and field tasks with the group, and participated in the fighting on the Marib, Taiz, and Al-Dhalea fronts, before he was killed during the confrontations in the vicinity of Jabal Jardad in the Al-Shamaytain District.

His killing - according to the same sources - came a day after the killing of Houthi leader Saddam Ghallab, nicknamed “Abu Attan”, on the Kahboub front on the outskirts of Lahj Governorate. Ghallab had held several security positions, the most recent of which was security director of the Houth and Bani Sarim districts in Amran Governorate. It was also preceded two days by the killing of the Houthi leader Firaq Al-Assar, known as “Abu Saqr Al-Qafar,” who was leading one of the group’s elite brigades, during the confrontations on the Kahboub front, along with a number of his members.

In another indication of the extent of losses among the Houthis, Dhamar Governorate (one hundred kilometers south of Sanaa) witnessed over the past two days the arrival of more than a hundred bodies to a number of government hospitals, according to medical and local sources. The sources said that the dead fell in the confrontations taking place on the fronts in the governorates of Al-Dhalea, Taiz, and Al-Bayda, noting that among the bodies were military and field leaders, as well as children who the sources said were recruited to fight and sent to the areas of confrontation.

The arrival of the bodies coincided with the influx of infected people, which imposed additional pressure on health facilities in the governorate, which already suffer from limited capabilities and resources. The sources explained that Dhamar General Hospital received the largest number of bodies, and that the mortuary was filled with dozens of bodies, including 6 of military and field commanders, in addition to 12 dead people who the sources said were no more than 18 years old.

As the number of bodies exceeded the available capacity, the authorities controlling the hospital resorted to exceptional arrangements to preserve the dead, including the use of three refrigerated containers placed in the courtyard of the medical facility. A medical source at Dhamar General Hospital, who requested anonymity for fear of being subjected to Houthi punishment, said that the number of bodies that arrived during the past two days exceeded the capacity of the morgue to hold.

The influx of bodies into Dhamar coincided with tightening security measures around the hospital, amid restrictions on the movement of media and preventing access to some of its facilities, according to sources. The sources said that the security measures aimed to limit access to information regarding the numbers of dead and wounded and their data, including their names, ages, areas of origin, and the fronts on which they were killed.

In the face of rising medical needs, the World Health Organization announced continued support for health facilities receiving cases resulting from the conflict. The organization said that it had completed the delivery of its third medical shipment, which included surgical supplies, medicines and antibiotics, to Al-Jumhuriya Teaching Hospital and May 22 Hospital in Aden, in addition to Kara Hospital and Ma’rib General Hospital in Ma’rib Governorate.

These military developments come at a time when the displacement crisis linked to the recent escalation is expanding, amid a UN warning of the possibility of an increase in the number of displaced people in the coming weeks. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees warned that the number of internally displaced people as a result of the recent escalation may exceed 230,000 people over the next month if the current pace of fighting and displacement continues.