Daijiworld Media Network – Sanaa
Sanaa, Oct 21: Houthi rebels in Yemen have released five detained Yemeni United Nations staff members and permitted 15 international UN employees to move freely within the organization’s compound in Sanaa after holding them over the weekend, a UN spokesperson confirmed on Monday.
Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres, said Houthi security forces had vacated the compound after the latest in a series of raids targeting international organizations. He added that Secretary-General Guterres had spoken earlier with the foreign ministers and leaders of Iran, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia, urging them to use their regional influence to secure the safety and release of UN personnel.

The Houthis have long targeted UN staff and humanitarian workers in areas under their control, including the capital Sanaa, the port city of Hodeida, and the northern stronghold of Sadaa. The rebel group has often accused detained UN and embassy employees of espionage — allegations the UN has firmly denied. Several humanitarian staff remain in custody, and a World Food Program employee reportedly died in detention earlier this year in Sadaa.
Meanwhile, on Monday, thousands gathered in Sanaa to attend the funeral of the Houthi military chief of staff, Maj. Gen. Muhammad Abdul Karim al-Ghamari, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike last week along with his 13-year-old son Hussain and several associates.
The rebels confirmed al-Ghamari’s death through the SABA news agency but did not specify when the strike occurred. The general had been sanctioned by both the UN and the US for orchestrating Houthi military operations threatening Yemen’s stability and leading cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia.
The U.S. Treasury had previously accused al-Ghamari of overseeing deadly Houthi strikes impacting civilians and confirmed that he had been trained by Hezbollah and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
Anger against Israel ran high at Monday’s funeral, where mourners condemned the airstrike. “Israel is the biggest enemy for Arabs and Muslims,” one attendee, Ayham Hassan, told The Associated Press from Sanaa.
The killing of senior Houthi figures, including their prime minister Ahmed al-Rahawi in earlier Israeli strikes, has further escalated tensions in the region. The U.S. and Israel have been carrying out joint air and naval campaigns against the Houthis following the rebels’ drone and missile attacks on Israel and commercial vessels in the Red Sea — attacks the Houthis claim are in solidarity with Palestinians amid the ongoing Gaza conflict.
Their continued operations have severely disrupted global trade, affecting nearly $1 trillion worth of goods that pass through the Red Sea each year.