Yemen’s Houthi rebels have accused Saudi Arabia of conducting an air strike on a prison in the northern city of al-Hazm, which they claim resulted in the deaths of seven individuals, including a child. The strike targeted the Central Corrective Facility in al-Jawf province, located on the Yemeni side of the border with Saudi Arabia, and also left at least seven others injured, including a woman, according to Anees al-Asbahi, a spokesperson for the Houthi-run Health Ministry, who spoke on Monday.
The Houthi-run Al Masirah TV channel broadcast footage purportedly showing the aftermath of the alleged air strike, depicting a collapsed building and rescue efforts in progress. Saudi Arabia has not issued a statement regarding these allegations.
Additionally, Al Masirah TV released footage that it claims shows Houthi forces attacking Saudi supply trucks containing military equipment at a border crossing in Yemen’s Hadramout province using ballistic missiles. Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree accused Saudi Arabia of committing “massacres” in al-Jawf, asserting that the country is employing reconnaissance drones and supplying mercenaries with weaponry.
Saree stated, “The ongoing Saudi aggression against Yemen will not go unpunished, and the Saudi enemy must bear the consequences of its crimes against the Yemeni people.” He also claimed that the Houthis had shot down four Saudi reconnaissance drones over the past 24 hours, including a CH-4 drone allegedly engaged in “hostile missions” in al-Jawf. He noted that this drone is the second of its type to be shot down in the last 12 hours and the fourth in the past 24 hours.
Riyadh has not responded to Saree’s claims. These accusations arise amid escalating fighting between the Houthis and Yemen’s internationally recognized government, which reported significant territorial gains against the Houthis in al-Jawf, Bayda, Dahle, and Marib provinces on Sunday.
In recent days, government-aligned forces have conducted counterattacks in Taiz and Hodeidah following a major offensive by the Houthis to control the critical Bab al-Mandeb strait, with reports indicating hundreds of casualties over the past 24 hours.
UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg urged the warring parties to cease hostilities and exercise maximum restraint, cautioning that the current escalation could lead to a full-scale war. Air strikes on prisons have occurred multiple times during Yemen’s decade-long conflict; in 2022, the Saudi-led coalition struck a detention facility in Saada province, resulting in at least 87 prisoner deaths and approximately 266 injuries. In 2019, a coalition strike on a Houthi-run detention facility in Dhamar province killed over 100 individuals and injured dozens.