The Security Council will hold an open briefing Monday under the “Threats to international peace and security” agenda item.
The meeting was scheduled after Israel requested an urgent Security Council meeting in a 24 December letter to the Council referencing several recent attacks by the Houthi rebel group in Yemen against Israel.
Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific Mohamed Khaled Khiari is expected to brief. A civil society representative is also expected to brief.
Israel is expected to participate under rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure.
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and UN Resident Coordinator in Yemen Julien Harneis, together with more than a dozen other UN personnel, were present On 26 December, when Israel carried an air assault against Yemen, targeting the Sana’a International Airport and two power stations. Tedros and Harneis were unharmed by the strike, in which one UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) was injured. At least six people were killed, according to the Houthis.
At a 27 December press conference, Harneis noted that the strikes hit approximately 300 meters away from where the UN delegation was present, adding that a civilian plane was landing as the attack occurred and although it landed safely, it could been a far worse situation. He noted that the airport is a transit hub used by international humanitarian workers, emphasising that an attack that puts the airport out of commission would paralyse humanitarian operations in northern Yemen.
In this vein, Harneis warned that if the conflict between Israel and the Houthis continues to intensify, the potential impact on civilian infrastructure would increase humanitarian needs, noting that the majority of commercial imports to Yemen enter through Hodeidah Port.
He added that 18 million people are currently in need of assistance in the country, a number that is expected to rise to more than 19 million in 2025 because of deteriorating economic conditions.
At Monday’s meeting, Khiari and Council members are similarly expected to voice alarm about the recent developments and the risk of further escalation in the region and call for restraint. In this regard, some might express concern about inflammatory rhetoric from both sides.
Council members are likely to present different perspectives on the situation. Members more closely aligned with Israel, including the P3 (France, the UK, and the US), are likely to strongly condemn the Houthi attacks against Israel. Some of these members may express concern about the transfer of weapons to the Houthis, including by Iran.
Other Council members, including Russia, may be more reluctant to condemn the Houthis and are likely to directly criticize the Israeli attacks in Yemen.
These members may also condemn retaliatory strikes in Yemen conducted by the US and the UK in response to Houthi attacks against commercial vessels in the Red Sea.
Many Council members are likely to be interested in learning from Khiari about the possible humanitarian consequences of the Israeli airstrikes. There may be expressions of concern about possible effects on food security, since up to 85 percent of Yemen’s food supply is provided through commercial imports, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).