ALBAWABA - A number of airstrikes target Sanaa International Airport, media affiliated with the Ansar Allah group (Houthis) reported Monday, accusing Saudi Arabia of targeting the Sanaa airport.
The military spokesman for Yemen's Houthi group, Yahya Saree, said in a statement, "Saudi targeting of Sanaa airport ends the de-escalation phase."
Saree posted Monday on his official X account, "In a flagrant and brazen act of aggression, the Saudi has targeted Sanaa airport with a series of airstrikes, thereby ending the de-escalation phase and bearing the consequences of its aggression."
He added, "We affirm that this aggression will not pass without response and punishment."
On the other hand, the Yemeni Ministry of Defense announced that it targeted the runway of Sanaa International Airport to prevent an Iranian plane from landing, while the Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of carrying out the airstrikes on the airport.
The head of the Presidential Council in Yemen, Rashad al-Alimi, said that the Houthi militia insisted on proceeding with receiving a new Iranian flight outside the legal and sovereign frameworks regulating civil aviation.
This comes hours after news that a civilian aircraft that arrived at Sanaa airport on Monday morning departed approximately one hour after landing.
Eyewitnesses and local sources told Erem News that the plane landed around 9:00 a.m. and then departed shortly after, around 10:00 a.m.
According to flight data, the flight, a Boeing 727 registered in Kenya, was operated by Saif Air and originated in Djibouti. Observers believe it likely belongs to the United Nations.
On the other hand, an Al Jazeera report revealed Monday that in the early hours of July 3rd, an Iranian aircraft violated Yemeni airspace and landed at Sanaa airport, which has been under the control of the Houthis group since September 2014.
The plane took several Houthi militia members to Tehran to participate in the funeral ceremonies for Iranian former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a U.S.-Israeli airstrike on Iran in February.
This development sparked a heated crisis whose repercussions continue amidst mutual threats between the parties involved: the Yemeni government and the Saudi-led Arab coalition on one side, and the Houthis on the other.
