Eight people were confirmed dead.
The Houthis carried out overnight airstrikes against Sanaa, Hodeida and other cities. This was just one day after they attacked an oil depot located in the Saudi city Jiddah. It was their most public attack on the kingdom.
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He claimed that the coalition destroyed two drones laden with explosives in its interceptions and destructions on Saturday morning. He claimed that the drones were launched in Houthi-held civilian oil plants in Hodeida and urged civilians to avoid oil facilities in the area.
Online footage showed flames and plumes rising from Sanaa to Hodeida. Associated Press journalists who were in Yemen’s capital heard loud explosions that rattled homes.
According to the Houthis, the coalition airstrikes struck a power plant and a fuel supply station in the capital.
According to a Houthi media outlet, an airstrike struck houses guarding the social insurance office in Sanaa’s Haddah neighborhood. It killed at least eight people, and injured four more, including children and women.
Images were shared by the office to show the effects of the airstrike. It showed the destruction of the building next to the social insurance office and the windows that had been smashed.
Hamoud Abbad is a local official of the Houthis in Sanaa who claimed that the facility was located near a building used in the capital by U.N. agencies. According to him, U.N. vehicles had been seen leaving the area before the airstrikes.
The Houthi media office claimed that the coalition attacked oil facilities in Hodeida in violation of a cease-fire agreement signed in 2018. This deal ended months of fighting in Hodeida. It handles 70% of Yemen’s humanitarian and commercial imports. Port Salif was also struck, which is also located on the Red Sea.
Al-Malki, coalition spokesperson, claimed that it targeted drones being made in Hodeida for use against the Kingdom. According to SPA, he accused the Houthis, of using civilian infrastructure such as Hodeida ports and Sanaa airport to launch attacks against Saudi oil facilities.
Al-Malki announced that coalition airstrikes were launched late Wednesday on Houthi-held Hodeida. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The U.N. mission that oversees the Hodeida agreement expressed concern over the airstrikes. It urged warring parties to “maintain civilian nature of ports and avoid damage civilian infrastructure.”
“Once more we are seeing civilians bearing most of the brunt in this conflict which just keeps getting worse every year,” Erin Hutchinson said, Yemen director at The Norwegian Refugee Council (a charity that works in Yemen). “This escalation will not do anything to alleviate the hardships millions of people are experiencing.”
This escalation comes on the seventh anniversary that the Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen’s civil war. It is likely to hamper efforts by Hans Grundberg, the U.N. special representative for Yemen, to achieve a humanitarian truce during Ramadan, the holy month, in April.
The Gulf Cooperation Council is planning to host warring parties for talks in the latter part of the month. However, the Houthis have rejected Riyadh (the Saudi capital where GCC is headquartered) as a venue to hold talks. These talks are expected include a variety of Yemeni factions.
Peter Salisbury is a Yemen expert at International Crisis Group. He doubts that efforts to bring a peaceful solution to the ongoing war in Yemen will succeed, as international attention now shifts to other crises, including the war in Ukraine.
He said, “I would not believe in any optimism that we’ll see diplomatic progress in 2022.” “It is clear that all parties continue to look for ways to win or cause serious damage to their opponents.”
After the Houthis took Sanaa, Yemen saw a brutal civil war. Saudi Arabia and its allies launched an air campaign that dislodged the Houthis and restored the internationally recognized government months later.
In recent years, the conflict has become a proxy war in regional regions that has resulted in more than 150,000 deaths, including 14.500 civilians. It has also caused one of the most severe humanitarian crises in history.
Friday’s attack by the Houthis came before Sunday’s Formula One race in Saudi Arabia, raising questions about Saudi Arabia’s ability and willingness to defend itself against Iranian-backed rebels.
Friday’s attack on the North Jiddah Bulk Plant, which is located just southeast of the city’s international airport and is crucial for Muslim pilgrims headed to Mecca, was the exact same one that the Houthis attacked in recent days.
The Associated Press analyzed satellite photos from Planet Labs PBC and found that one of the tanks was still burning on Saturday morning. The tank erupted in flames, and thick black smoke rose from the fire.
Attacks on new tanks appeared to be targeted, since a tank that was twice hit by the Houthis two rows north seemed unaffected in the new attack. The white wrapping and fire-suppressing foam on a tank next to the one that was burning appeared to be covering it.
According to airport officials, hundreds of Egyptian passengers were left stranded at Cairo International Airport following their Jiddah-bound flight cancellations due to the Houthi attack.
Two flights were cancelled by Saudia, the kingdom’s flag carrier carrier. It was announced on its website. Both flights were booked for 456 passengers. Flynas, a low-cost Saudi airline, operated a third flight that was canceled with 146 passengers.
According to Egyptian officials, some passengers were able to find seats on Saudi Arabia-bound flights. Others were booked into Cairo hotels near the Cairo airport.