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Houthis Hand Back UN Office They Had Seized in Sanaa

The Houthis had launched a campaign of arrests against UN and NGO staff in areas under their control around two months ago, accusing them of spying. (AFP)
The Houthis had launched a campaign of arrests against UN and NGO staff in areas under their control around two months ago, accusing them of spying. (AFP)
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Houthis Hand Back UN Office They Had Seized in Sanaa

The Houthis had launched a campaign of arrests against UN and NGO staff in areas under their control around two months ago, accusing them of spying. (AFP)
The Houthis had launched a campaign of arrests against UN and NGO staff in areas under their control around two months ago, accusing them of spying. (AFP)

The Iran-backed Houthi militias handed back on Monday a United Nations office they had seized in Sanaa earlier this month.

On August 3, the militias stormed the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and expelled its staff, prompting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to demand their immediate release, as well as the release of humanitarian workers held in their jails.

A spokesman of the UN mission to Yemen told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Houthis’ illegal government handed back the office to UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen Julien Harneis.

“The Resident Coordinator says we are encouraged by this move and renew our call for the immediate and unconditional release of all arbitrarily detained staff of UN and NGO and civil society personnel,” said the Secretary-General's Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

Harneis reported that the office appears to be in its original state, but an inventory is currently underway, Dujarric told journalists.

He added that the UN and partners “should never be targeted, arrested or detained while carrying out their mandates.”

Guterres, meanwhile, reiterated that those detained must be treated with full respect for their human rights, and that they must be able to contact their families and legal representatives.

He said he “remains deeply concerned about the well-being of the United Nations personnel, members of civil society, national and international non-governmental organizations, diplomatic missions and private sector entities arbitrarily detained by the Houthis for more than two months and demands their immediate and unconditional release.”

“The humanitarian and development situation in Yemen is dire, with over 18 million people suffering the consequences of food insecurity, epidemics, displacement, damaged infrastructure and critical economic conditions,” he went on to say.

“The United Nations is working tirelessly to address the impact of the situation on the people of Yemen, but the safety of our personnel must be assured. The UN and its partners should never be targeted, arrested or detained while carrying out their mandates,” said Guterres.

Last week, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk condemned the Houthis for seizing the UN office.

“Entering a UN office without permission and seizing documents and property by force are wholly inconsistent with the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations,” he said in a statement.

“This is also a serious attack on the ability of the UN to perform its mandate, including with respect to the promotion and protection of human rights, which my Office is there to defend.”

The Houthis had launched a campaign of arrests against UN and NGO staff in areas under their control around two months ago, accusing them of spying.

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Israel Hits Beirut after Rockets Fired from South Lebanon, Warns Govt to Enforce Ceasefire or it Will

People gather at the site of an Israeli strike in southern Beirut on March 28, 2025. (AFP)
People gather at the site of an Israeli strike in southern Beirut on March 28, 2025. (AFP)
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Israel Hits Beirut after Rockets Fired from South Lebanon, Warns Govt to Enforce Ceasefire or it Will

People gather at the site of an Israeli strike in southern Beirut on March 28, 2025. (AFP)
People gather at the site of an Israeli strike in southern Beirut on March 28, 2025. (AFP)

Israel made good on its threat Friday to strike Beirut after rockets were fired towards its territory, rattling an already fragile truce in Lebanon that had largely ended more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah.

It was the second time rockets had been launched at Israel from Lebanon since the November ceasefire, and the second time the Iran-backed Hezbollah denied involvement.

After the attack, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said: "If there is no quiet in Kiryat Shmona and the Galilee communities, there will be no quiet in Beirut either."

Hours later, the Israeli military carried out its first strike in the capital's southern suburbs since the ceasefire after urging residents close to a building there to leave, warning they were "near Hezbollah facilities" and "must immediately evacuate".

It said the attack targeted a "site used to store UAVs by Hezbollah's Aerial Unit (127) in the area of Dahieh, a key Hezbollah terrorist stronghold in Beirut", which Israel bombed heavily during its war with the group last year.  

Israel's warning sparked panic in the densely populated area, with parents rushing to pick up their children from schools that quickly shut, AFP correspondents said.  

Heavy traffic clogged roads as many residents tried to flee.  

Katz said the Lebanese government must enforce the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah on its side of the border, or Israel would continue to conduct attacks.

"I am sending a clear message to the Lebanese government: If you do not enforce the ceasefire agreement, we will enforce it," he said in a statement after Israeli aircraft hit targets in Beirut.

Israel's military said early Friday two "projectiles" were fired towards Israel, with one intercepted and the other falling inside Lebanon.  

It later announced it was "striking Hezbollah terror targets in southern Lebanon".  

Hezbollah said it "confirms the party's respect for the ceasefire agreement and denies any involvement in the rockets launched today from the south of Lebanon".  

The group's leader, Naim Qassem, had been expected to give a speech in the southern suburbs later Friday, but Hezbollah said the event had now been cancelled.  

Katz said Lebanon's "government bears direct responsibility for any fire toward the Galilee".  

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam urged his army chief "to act quickly to... uncover those behind the irresponsible rocket fire that threatens Lebanon's stability" and arrest them.  

- Schools closed -  

The November ceasefire largely ended the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, although Israel has continued to conduct occasional strikes in southern Lebanon.  

French President Emmanuel Macron called the reported Israeli air strike on Lebanon "unacceptable" and a "violation of the ceasefire".  

France is on the committee tasked with overseeing the ceasefire.  

Friday's rocket fire came after Israeli strikes Thursday killed six people in the south, with Israel saying it had targeted Hezbollah members.  

NNA reported Israeli attacks in several parts of the south Friday. It said a strike on Kfar Tebnit southeast of Nabatiyeh killed one person and wounded 18, including three children.  

It also reported shelling in Naqoura, where the UN peacekeeping mission is based.  

UN special envoy for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert called the flare-up "deeply concerning" and urged restraint.  

"A return to wider conflict in Lebanon would be devastating for civilians on both sides of the Blue Line and must be avoided at all costs," she said.  

The NNA also reported raids on the Jezzine region north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the border with Israel.  

Schools closed in the Nabatieh area, an AFP correspondent said, as did some in Tyre which was hit by a deadly Israeli strike last weekend.  

"I decided to bring my children to school in spite of the situation, but the administration told me they had closed it after the Israeli threats and I had to take them back home," father of four Ali Qassem told AFP.  

- Escalation -  

Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel on October 8, 2023 in support of its ally Hamas following the Palestinian group's unprecedented attack on southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.  

The cross-border hostilities ultimately escalated into all-out war, with Israel conducting an intense bombing campaign in Lebanon and sending in ground troops.  

The truce brought a partial Israeli withdrawal, although its troops still hold five positions in south Lebanon that are deemed strategic, even after the pullout deadline.  

Last weekend saw the most intense escalation since the truce, with Israeli strikes in the south after rocket fire killing eight people, according to Lebanese officials.  

Hezbollah had also denied any involvement in that rocket attack, calling Israel's accusations "pretexts for its continued attacks on Lebanon".  

Under the ceasefire, Hezbollah was to pull its forces north of the Litani, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.  

Israel has also recently resumed intensive military operations in Gaza, shattering weeks of relative calm brought on by a January ceasefire with Hamas.