Yemeni officials have appealed for international support to protect civilians in Taiz as Iran-backed Houthi rebels tightened their siege of the city Meanwhile, a police officer guarding the Israeli Embassy in the Serbian capital of Belgrade shot and killed a man who attacked him with a knife. Police labeled the incident as a “terrorist attack.” Separately, Iran's top diplomat said a meeting of high-level security officials from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey was a step toward dialogue and peace, while stressing that regional security should be handled by the countries themselves rather than outside intervention. Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Wednesday.
Read our full coverage here. Yemeni government officials urged the international community to help protect civilians and reopen roads into the besieged city of Taiz as Iran-backed Houthi rebels further tightened their encirclement of the city. Taiz province has emerged as a major battlefront in recent weeks, including the city of Taiz, which has taken in around half of Yemen’s displaced population, straining limited resources.
Nabil Shamsan said residents had lost access to about 3 million liters (about 793,000 gallons) of water previously available from wells in Wadi al-Dhubab, which he said is now under Houthi control. The couldn’t independently verify that claim. Eshraq al-Maqtari, a legal affairs minister in Yemen’s internationally recognized government, said more than 2,000 projectiles and explosives fired by the Houthis had struck Taiz city’s districts in recent days and called for measures to cut off the rebels' weapon supplies and funding.
Shamsan said fighting had intensified across the province as the Houthis deployed reinforcements to multiple fronts, with the city encircled on all four sides. The Houthi military warned people to immediately evacuate Aden airport, claiming without providing evidence that a Saudi military cargo plane carrying weapons was at the facility. The couldn’t independently verify the claim.
It was the first time the Houthis issued an evacuation warning for Aden airport. It has been struck a few times this month, most recently by two missiles, with police blaming the Houthis. An assailant armed with knives attacked a police officer guarding the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia, just after midnight on Wednesday, police said.
The officer, from an elite unit, responded by fatally shooting the attacker. Serbia’s Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said that police were treating the incident as a “terrorist attack” and had raised the terror threat to the highest level. Police presence at key locations was increased.
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