Houthi

Oct. 29 (UPI) — Human rights organization Amnesty International said Wednesday that a U.S. airstrike that hit a Houthi detention center in Yemen in April should be investigated as a war crime.

The April attack on Saada, in the northwestern part of Yemen, was part of Operation Rough Rider and killed civilian migrants held in a Houthi detention center because of their immigration status, Amnesty said.

The migrants often come through Yemen from the horn of Africa to get to Saudi Arabia for work.

At the time of the attack, the Houthis reported that at least 68 African migrants were killed and 47 were injured.

On Wednesday, Amnesty also released a report, It is a miracle we survived: U.S. Air Strike on Civilians Held in Sa’ada Detention Centre, in which it interviewed 15 survivors and did analysis on satellite imagery and footage.

“The harrowing testimonies from survivors paint a clear picture of a civilian building, packed with detainees, being bombed without distinction,” said Kristine Beckerle, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, in a statement.

“This was a lethal failure by the U.S. to comply with one of its core obligations under international humanitarian law: to do everything feasible to verify whether the object attacked was a military objective.”

She called on the United States to give reparations to the migrants and their families, “including financial compensation. Given the air strike killed and injured civilians, the U.S. authorities should investigate this attack as a war crime,’ she said.

“Where sufficient evidence exists, competent authorities should prosecute any person suspected of criminal responsibility, including under the doctrine of command responsibility.”

The U.S. air strikes were conducted to protect the Red Sea from Houthi attacks, which had begun in response to the war between Israel and Hamas. The Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, support Hamas.

“The U.S. must conduct a prompt, thorough, independent, impartial, and transparent investigation into the air strike on the Saada migrant detention center and make the results public,” Beckerle said.

“Survivors of this attack deserve nothing less than full justice. They must receive full, effective, and prompt reparations, including restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition, through an effective and accessible mechanism.”

On April 27, CENTCOM released a statement saying, “These operations have been executed using detailed and comprehensive intelligence ensuring lethal effects against the Houthis while minimizing risk to civilians.

“To preserve operational security, we have intentionally limited disclosing details of our ongoing or future operations. We are very deliberate in our operational approach, but will not reveal specifics about what we’ve done or what we will do.”

A drone crashed into a hotel in the southern Israeli city of Eilat on Thursday, causing a fire but no casualties, authorities said. Yemen’s Houthi group, who have been firing drones and missiles in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Houthis promise more attacks unless Israel ends its offensive on Gaza and lifts the siege.

Israel’s military has launched new air raids on Yemen’s Hodeidah port, targeting what it described as Houthi-linked sites used to stage drone and missile attacks against Israel and its allies.

Minister of Defence Israel Katz on Monday said the military was “forcefully countering any attempt to restore the terror infrastructure previously attacked”.

The Israeli military claimed that the “port serves as a channel for weapons used by the Houthis to carry out terrorist operations against Israel and its allies”.

The Houthi movement, which controls large parts of northern Yemen, later claimed responsibility for drone and missile attacks on locations in Israel, including Ben Gurion airport, Ashdod and Jaffa.

In a statement, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the strikes were a direct response to the attacks on Hodeidah and Israel’s continued bombardment of Gaza.

“The drone attack successfully achieved its objectives,” he said, adding that operations would continue until Israel ends its offensive on Gaza and lifts the siege.

Since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023, the Houthis have carried out several attacks on shipping lanes in the Red Sea, saying they were acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Israel has responded with repeated strikes on Houthi targets, particularly in Hodeidah, a key entry point for goods and aid into Yemen.

“The Houthis will pay a heavy price for launching missiles toward the State of Israel,” Katz said.

Earlier this month, the Houthis claimed responsibility for an attack on the Greek-owned vessel Eternity C, which maritime officials said had killed four people.

In May, the United States brokered a deal with the Houthis to halt their bombing campaign in exchange for reduced attacks on international shipping. However, the Houthis clarified that the agreement did not extend to operations involving Israel.

Yemen’s Houthis have released video of a second attack within days that ended with a commercial ship sinking in the Red Sea. At least four crew members from the Eternity C were killed and 15 others are missing.

Israel says it has launched strikes on Houthi targets in three Yemeni ports, including the western port of Hodeidah, Ras Isa and Saif.

The attacks come shortly after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders for civilians in the areas, warning of imminent air strikes.

Israeli defence minister Israel Katz confirmed on social media the strikes on the Houthi-controlled sites including a power station and a ship that was hijacked by the group two years ago.

Houthi-run media in Yemen said the strikes hit the port of Hodeidah, but no further details were provided on damage or casualties.

Katz said the strikes were part of “Operation Black Flag” and warned that the Houthis “will continue to pay a heavy price for their actions”.

“The fate of Yemen is the same as the fate of Tehran. Anyone who tries to harm Israel will be harmed, and anyone who raises a hand against Israel will have their hand cut off,” he said in a post on X.

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels have regularly launched missiles at Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and attacked commercial ships in the Red Sea.

The Israeli Air Force said the latest strikes on Yemen’s ports were in response to “repeated attacks” by the Houthis on Israel and its citizens.

It added that the targeted ports were being used to “transfer weapons from the Iranian regime to carry out terror plans” against Israel and its allies.

Shortly after the attack, Houthis confirmed its air defences had confronted Israel’s strikes with missiles, according to Reuters news agency.

Among the targets was a commercial ship the Galaxy Leader seized by the group in November 2023, which Israel said was being used to monitor maritime vessels in international waters.

The Ras Kanatib power station which supplies electricity to the nearby cities of Ibb and Taizz, was also hit, Israel said.

This latest attack on Hodeidah comes after Israeli navy ships struck targets in the port city last month.

Hodeidah port, which is the main entry point for food and other humanitarian aid for millions of Yemenis, has been the target of several Israeli strikes in the past year.