New York, United States - December 11, 2024 China on Wednesday called on all parties concerned to take practical actions to jointly advance a comprehensive political process led and owned by the Yemeni people so as to seek a political solution to the Yemen issue. The UN Security Council held a meeting on the situation in Yemen at the UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday to promote unified action to end the Yemen conflict amid escalating regional tensions and growing humanitarian crisis. Speaking at the meeting, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations Geng Shuang said that Israel and the Houthi group have been attacking each other, with Israel recently saying it was considering launching a new large-scale attack on Yemen, which is deeply worrying. Geng also noted the rapid change in the situation in Syria, which brought new instability to the entire Middle East region, including Yemen and the Red Sea. China once again calls on the Houthi group to stop attacking merchant ships of various countries in the Red Sea and maintain the safety of waterways. China also calls on all parties concerned to remain calm and restrained to prevent the escalation of tensions, Geng said. Other UN officials also noted that practical measures, including releasing hostages and transferring emergency relief fund, should be taken to prevent tension escalation. Also at the meeting, Hans Grundberg, special envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, reported via video link that although three hostages arbitrarily detained in Yemen six months ago have been released, dozens are still not free, with some detainees having been held for up to a decade, and they should be released immediately and unconditionally. Tom Fletcher, under-secretary-general for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said internal conflicts still hound Yemen, and the country faces escalating regional tensions, a deteriorating economy and threats to the safety of humanitarian workers of UN and other organizations. Fletcher also noted an estimated 2.5 billion U.S. dollars are needed to reach 10.5 million people across Yemen. Shotlist: UN Headquarters, New York City - Dec 11, 2024: FILE: UN headquarters, New York City - Date Unknown 1. UN headquarters building, cityscape, river; FILE: UN Headquarters, New York City - June 29, 2023 2. UN headquarters building; FILE: UN Headquarters, New York City - June 26, 2023 3. UN flag; UN Headquarters, New York City - Dec 11, 2024 4. UN Security Council meeting on situation in Yemen in progress; 5. China's deputy permanent representative to UN Geng Shuang speaking at meeting; 6. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to UN: "I would like to once again call on all parties concerned to exercise restraint and refrain from actions that may escalate the situation. I stress that Yemen's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity should be respected. I reiterate that the Yemen issue must ultimately be resolved politically. The current stagnation in the peace process is not in the long-term and fundamental interests of the Yemeni people. All parties should demonstrate political will, take practical actions, gradually build mutual trust, create conditions for restarting dialogue, and jointly advance a comprehensive political process led and owned by the Yemeni people."; 7. UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg speaking at meeting; 8. UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher speaking at meeting; FILE: Yemen - Date Unknown 9. National flag of Yemen, city view; 10. Various of debris, damaged buildings. [Restriction - No access Chinese mainland, For news purpose only/No archive/Not for other production use]