SANA’A — Yemen’s internationally unrecognized government based in Sana’a issued a sharp rebuke of United Nations Special Envoy Hans Grundberg on Saturday, accusing him of bias toward Israel and silence in the face of Israeli atrocities in Gaza and military actions targeting Yemeni territory. The Foreign Ministry called Grundberg’s position “non-neutral,” charging that his latest statements overlook the causes of the Red Sea crisis and ignore what Yemen refers to as genocide in Gaza.
The criticism came in response to Grundberg’s briefing to the UN Security Council, in which he warned that Red Sea attacks by Yemen-based forces risk escalating regional conflict and further destabilizing Yemen. The UN envoy made no direct mention of Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza or its reported strikes on Yemen, which have intensified in recent months.
According to Tasnim News, that Yemen’s Foreign Ministry accused Grundberg of selectively addressing security threats while ignoring the broader geopolitical reality that triggered the Red Sea operations—namely, the ongoing Israeli bombardment of Gaza and the siege that has prevented critical humanitarian aid from reaching the besieged enclave.
Red Sea operations framed as response to Israeli impunity
Yemen’s government reiterated that its military actions in the Red Sea, including restrictions on Israeli-linked vessels, are a direct consequence of 21 months of global failure to halt Israeli aggression. Officials in Sana’a argue that their actions are not indiscriminate attacks on commercial shipping, but targeted operations aimed at Israeli interests in protest of the Gaza campaign.
According to Yemen, these maritime actions began only after the international community, including the UN and Arab states—failed to pressure Israel into ending its siege and military escalation in Gaza. Over 58,000 Palestinians have been killed in the ongoing conflict, according to Gaza health authorities, with thousands more missing or displaced.
Silence on Israeli attacks on Yemen
Yemeni officials also criticized the UN for ignoring Israeli strikes inside Yemeni territory. In recent months, missile and drone attacks allegedly launched by Israeli forces or their Western allies have hit Yemeni infrastructure in response to Houthi-led maritime operations.
Yet, in the UN envoy’s latest address to the Security Council, no mention was made of these attacks. Sana’a views this omission as evidence that the UN is no longer a neutral mediator, but rather a platform that echoes the security narratives of the United States and its allies, particularly Israel, according to OSESGY (Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen).
Accusations of international complicity
Yemen’s Foreign Ministry stopped short of naming individual Western countries, but the implication is clear: by refusing to condemn Israel’s actions in Gaza and Yemen, and by focusing instead on Red Sea navigation concerns, the UN and its backers are enabling a system of selective outrage. The West, Sana’a argues, frames Yemeni maritime resistance as terrorism while shielding Israel from accountability for far more destructive actions.
The ministry also emphasized that the maritime operations do not target neutral or civilian vessels, but specifically those with ties to Israeli economic or military supply chains. The goal, they say, is to pressure Israel into ending the Gaza siege, allowing aid access, and ceasing military operations.
A wider regional shift away from Western-dominated institutions
According to IRNA News, Yemen’s condemnation of Grundberg mirrors similar frustration expressed across the Global South. Nations such as Iran, Syria, and Algeria have voiced concerns over the UN’s failure to intervene meaningfully in Gaza, with some leaders calling for the creation of post-Western international mechanisms that can more fairly represent non-Western grievances.
In Sana’a, this incident has further fueled calls for greater regional cooperation outside Western-dominated institutions, including forums like the BRICS and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
As the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza deepens, and as the Red Sea becomes a new fault line in the broader confrontation between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel camps, Yemen’s message is blunt: if the UN remains silent while Israeli bombs fall on civilians, it should expect resistance, both on land and at sea.
The UN’s credibility in Yemen, and increasingly across the Middle East, is crumbling under the weight of its perceived double standards. And with each new statement that ignores the suffering in Gaza, Sana’a warns, the more the region will look elsewhere for justice.
