UNICEF official is released in Yemen and returns home to Jordan, officials say

CAIRO (AP) — The deputy director of the UNICEF office in Yemen was released from detention by Houthi rebels in the Yemeni capital city and returned home Thursday to Jordan, the Jordanian foreign ministry said.

The freeing of Jordanian citizen Lana Shukri Kataw was announced at a time of high tensions in Yemen and the larger region. Israeli strikes on Yemen on Wednesday killed at least 35 people and wounded more than 130 others.

Kataw was one of at least 19 U.N. staffers who were detained on Aug. 31 when the Iranian-backed Houthi rebel group raided their offices in the capital city of Sanaa.

The Houthis have not given a reason for taking the U.N. staffers hostage. But the raids were the latest in a long-running Houthi crackdown on the U.N. and other international organizations as well as diplomats working in rebel-held areas.

In 2024, they detained at least 11 U.N. employees and days later said they had arrested suspected members of an espionage network. The United Nations has denied those allegations.

The raids on offices of the United Nations’ food, health and children’s agencies in Sanaa followed Israel’s killing of Houthi Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi and several Cabinet ministers in an airstrike the week before.

It was not immediately clear exactly when Kataw was released, but the Jordanian foreign ministry said in a statement she was held in detention for days and that she arrived at a military airport in Jordan on Thursday.

It was unclear whether other staffers also had been freed.

Israel carried out airstrikes on Yemen on Wednesday and rescue efforts continued on Thursday.

The victims in Wednesday’s Israeli airstrikes in Yemen included at least two local journalists, Abduallah al-Bahri and Abbas al-Delmi, who were killed in the strikes in central Sanaa, the families told The Associated Press on Thursday.

They worked for news outlets called 26 September and Sabaa news agency.

Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, in his weekly address, accused Israel of targeting media institutions and civilian infrastructure, but said the strikes would not deter his group.

“Israel is a criminal enemy that targets media institutions in Sanaa in places crowded with civilians ... because it seeks to target everyone,” he said.

The airstrikes also caused damaged to Yemen's national museum and other historical sites in the capital, the Houthi culture ministry said Thursday.

The status of the artifacts inside the museum is still unclear, but thousands of historical artifacts are at risk of damage, according to the ministry. AP photos and video footage from the site of Wednesday's strike showed damage to the building’s facade.

The ministry called on the United Nations cultural agency UNESCO to condemn the attack and to intervene to help protect the historical building and its artifacts.

Most of those killed were in Sanaa, the capital, where a military headquarters and a fuel station were hit on Wednesday, the Houthi-run health ministry said.

Israel has previously launched waves of airstrikes in response to the Houthis’ firing of missiles and drones at Israel. The Iran-backed Houthis say they are supporting Hamas and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and on Sunday they sent a drone that breached Israel’s multilayered air defenses and slammed into a southern airport.

Separately, the Israeli military said Thursday it carried out strikes in Lebanon targeting what it described as a Hezbollah “site used for the production and storage of strategic weapons” in the Bekaa valley and infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah in the area of Zrariyeh in the south.

Earlier, Lebanon’s health ministry said one person was killed in an Israeli drone strike targeting a motorcyclist near the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon. Lebanese officials also said Israeli forces entered the border village of Aita al-Shaab and carried out a controlled demolition of a building that had previously been a school for special needs students.

Since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire halted the latest Israel-Hezbollah war in November, Israel has continued to carry out near-daily strikes in Lebanon that it says are aimed at stopping the militant group from rebuilding its capabilities.

Lebanese officials say the strikes are in violation of the ceasefire.

A man inspects the damage outside the National Museum, following the Israeli airstrikes on Wednesday in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)

Smoke billows following Israeli airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (AP Photo)

People inspect the damage at the National Museum, following the Israeli airstrikes on Wednesday in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)

Flames and smoke rise following Israeli airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (AP Photo)

A man inspects the damage at the National Museum, following the Israeli airstrikes on Wednesday in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Explosions rocked Damascus on Tuesday as France’s president met with his Syrian counterpart in a landmark visit, wounding at least 18 people, Syria's Interior Ministry said.

Emmanuel Macron was inside the presidential palace when the explosions happened, and Macron’s office said he was safe and that the meeting with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa continued.

“Nothing can smother the aspiration of Syrian women and men to live in a fully sovereign, safe, pluralistic, and united Syria,” Macron said in a post on X hours after the deadly explosions. “This morning I met Syria in all its diversity. I saw dignity, courage and determination.”

A large plume of smoke could be seen from the site of the explosion near the Four Seasons Hotel, where Syrian media reported Macron was staying. Footage widely circulated on social media showed a van and a motorcycle on fire and blood stains on the street in the area on a busy street near the headquarters of the Tourism Ministry and the Damascus National Museum.

The explosions represent a challenge to al-Sharaa, who came to power after leading an insurgency that ousted Bashar Assad in 2024 and ending the country’s 14-year uprising turned-civil war. Assad's dynasty ruled Syria with an iron fist for half a century.

Al-Sharaa has since pushed to assert full control over and bring stability to war-torn Syria, appeal to minorities skeptical of his Islamist-led rule, and win the support of Western governments who were concerned about his past leadership of the formerly al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group. His government has promised political and economic reform after decades of autocratic rule.

Macron is the first major Western leader to visit Syria since al-Sharaa came to power and his visit comes before he is set to head to Ankara, Turkey later Tuesday for a NATO summit. Macron also plans to hold a joint news conference with his Syrian counterpart. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss Macron’s whereabouts and security.

The French head of state played a major role in pushing Europe and the United States to drop most sanctions on Syria. He arrived in the country Monday night with an economic delegation, and is scheduled to sign memorandums of understanding with his counterpart as the battered country tries to lure investors to help it rebuild after 14 years of war.

The Interior Ministry in a statement reported by Syrian state media said that the two blasts in the heart of the capital were caused by explosive devices, one placed in a garbage bin and the other in a parked car. It added that four of the wounded were police officers, and no deaths were immediately reported.

An investigation is currently taking place at the scene of the attack. No group immediately claimed responsibility.

Macron arrived in the country Monday night with an economic delegation, and is scheduled to sign memorandums of understanding with his counterpart as the battered country tries to lure investors to help it rebuild after the war.

The incident comes days after an explosive device was detonated in a cafe near the Justice Palace in Damascus, killing at least 10 people and wounding more than 20.

While Syria’s new rulers have wrestled with violence involving different groups in the country as they work to assert control, the capital has largely been peaceful during the turbulent period.

The conflict in Syria killed nearly half a million people and displaced millions. Syria’s infrastructure lies in ruins, and while other nations and businesses have made large investment pledges, the country still needs hundreds of billions of dollars to rebuild and lift millions out of poverty.

Before arriving at the presidential palace, Macron met with members of Syrian civil society, though his office did not give details on who.

Chehayeb reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers John Leicester and Sylvie Corbet contributed to this report from Paris.

Onlookers and journalists watch from a bridge toward the area near the Four Seasons Hotel after two explosions rocked the site earlier while Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa was meeting French President Emmanuel Macron at the presidential palace in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)

Syrian security forces block the area near the Four Seasons Hotel after two explosions rocked the site earlier while Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa was meeting French President Emmanuel Macron at the presidential palace in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, center, shakes hands with Gen. Vincent Giraud, Macron's Chief of Staff, as French President Emmanuel Macron, right, as they meet in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)(AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, right, meets French President Emmanuel Macron at the presidential palace in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa meets French President Emmanuel Macron at the presidential palace in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, right, meets French President Emmanuel Macron at the presidential palace in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, right, meets French President Emmanuel Macron at the presidential palace in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, right, meets French President Emmanuel Macron at the presidential palace in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)