Yemeni

Israeli navy fires missiles at the energy facility south of Sanaa saying it was used by Houthis, but provides no evidence.

The Israeli navy has carried out attacks on a power plant near the Yemeni capital Sanaa, according to Israeli media reports.

Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV reported on Saturday that the “aggression” damaged generators at the Hezyaz power plant, sparking a fire that was later contained. The country’s deputy prime minister confirmed emergency crews managed to prevent further damage. Residents in Sanaa also reported hearing at least two loud explosions.

The Israeli military claimed that the site was being used by Houthi fighters. But it did not present evidence to justify hitting a civilian power station, raising concerns that the strike may constitute a war crime.

In a statement carried by Israeli outlets on Sunday, the military said the assault was a direct response to repeated Houthi attacks, including missiles and drones launched towards Israel.

The Houthis have repeatedly fired rockets and drones at Israel since 2023 in response to Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Israel has retaliated by bombing Yemen’s infrastructure, including Hodeidah port, a vital lifeline for humanitarian aid deliveries.

Israel has also attacked Yemen’s international airport, claiming it was being used by Houthis.

Most Houthi projectiles aimed at Israel have been intercepted, but the exchanges have widened the regional fallout of Israel’s war on Gaza.

The United States and the United Kingdom have also carried out bombings in Yemen as the Houthis attacked ships linked to Israel passing through the Red Sea. Houthis said the move, which disrupted global trade passing through the waterway, was in response to Israel’s war and blockade of Gaza.

In May, Washington announced a surprise truce with the group, halting its bombing campaign in exchange for an end to Houthi attacks on US-linked vessels in the Red Sea. The Houthis insisted the deal did not apply to their operations against Israel.

US forces had carried out hundreds of air raids in Yemen, killing more than 250 people, before the ceasefire was declared. US President Donald Trump said the truce would “stop the bombing”.

The deal appeared to blindside Israel, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressing his country would “defend ourselves alone” if necessary.

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Rescue operations are ongoing to find dozens more missing, local authorities say.

At least 54 African refugees and migrants have died and dozens remain missing after a boat capsized off the coast of Yemen, according to health authorities in Abyan governorate in the south of the country.

Abdul Qader Bajamil, director of the health office in Zanzibar, said on Sunday that rescue teams had recovered 54 bodies from the beaches there and surrounding areas, while 12 survivors were transferred to Shaqra Hospital.

The boat carrying around 150 people, mostly from Ethiopia, capsized in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Shaqra, in the Abyan governorate, due to strong winds on Saturday evening.

Bajamil noted that authorities were making arrangements to bury the victims in an area near the city, while search operations continued amid difficult conditions.

The waterways between Yemen and the Horn of Africa are a common but perilous route for refugees and migrants travelling in both directions. The area saw a spike in Yemenis fleeing the country after the civil war broke out in 2014.

Houthi rebels and government forces reached a truce deal in April 2022 that has resulted in a decrease in violence and the slight easing of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

Meanwhile, some of those fleeing conflict in Africa, particularly in Somalia and Ethiopia, have sought refuge in Yemen or have sought to travel through the country to the more prosperous Gulf countries. The route remains one of the “busiest and most perilous” migration routes in the world, according to the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM).

To reach Yemen, people are taken by smugglers on often dangerous, overcrowded boats across the Red Sea or the Gulf of Aden.

According to the IOM, more than 60,000 refugees and migrants arrived in Yemen in 2024, marking a significant drop from the previous year’s total of 97,200.

The decreased numbers come amid increased patrols of the waters, according to an IOM report released in May.

This is a deadly route that has killed hundreds over the past two years. According to the IOM, 558 people died along the route last year.

Over the past decade, at least 2,082 people have disappeared along the route, including 693 known to have drowned, according to the IOM. Yemen currently houses around 380,000 refugees and migrants.