Urgent Statement: The Yemeni Community in the Gaza Strip Between Existential Threat and Institutional Neglect

More than 120 Yemeni nationals, representing approximately 18 families, are facing a dual siege in the Gaza Strip, trapped under continuous bombardment and deprived of even the minimum conditions necessary for survival. Their suffering is reflected in their forced displacement into makeshift tents that lack the most basic humanitarian standards, with severe shortages of food, safe drinking water, and medical care. These encampments have also become fertile environments for the spread of disease. The severity of these conditions is further compounded by declining international attention and diminishing media coverage, leaving those stranded, along with the broader population of the Gaza Strip, to endure the consequences of war in conditions of enforced isolation.

Verified information confirms that the majority of those stranded are Yemeni women married to Palestinians, alongside their children and grandchildren. Their crisis extends beyond the immediate threat to their physical safety and encompasses complex legal and administrative challenges, particularly the expiration of travel documents for many individuals. This administrative barrier constitutes an additional obstacle that effectively eliminates opportunities for escape and urgently requires immediate institutional intervention to regularize their legal status and facilitate their evacuation. Official responsibility is further heightened by documented cases of missing persons among members of the Yemeni community, creating a legal and moral obligation to clarify their fate.

The continued presence of these civilians in areas subject to direct targeting constitutes a grave violation of the right to life and personal security, while also devastating the psychological well-being and future prospects of children and young people growing up under the constant threat of violence and fear. In this context, the Yemeni government, represented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its diplomatic missions, bears full constitutional responsibility for the protection of its citizens. Continued institutional silence amounts to an explicit abdication of the state’s fundamental duty to safeguard the lives of its nationals.

Accordingly, the Center calls for the following:
•⁠ ⁠The immediate issuance of emergency travel documents and the renewal of expired passports for stranded Yemenis in order to remove administrative obstacles impeding evacuation efforts.
•⁠ ⁠The establishment of urgent and effective coordination with relevant authorities and international organizations to secure safe humanitarian corridors that ensure the evacuation of Yemeni families and their transfer to safe and stable locations.
•⁠ ⁠The expansion and intensification of emergency humanitarian assistance to include Yemeni families and the wider civilian population of the Gaza Strip, who continue to suffer under the machinery of war, and to break the state of isolation and neglect exacerbated by the decline in international media attention.
•⁠ ⁠The formation of a governmental crisis cell tasked with investigating the cases of missing persons and providing immediate humanitarian support to besieged families pending the completion of evacuation procedures.
•⁠ ⁠The mobilization of Yemeni diplomatic efforts to press the international community to fulfill its responsibilities in protecting civilians and ensuring legal and on-the-ground protection for communities trapped in conflict zones.