Houthis Force Supporters to Visit Graves, Prove Loyalty

A Yemeni at a Houthi cemetery in Sanaa (AFP)
A Yemeni at a Houthi cemetery in Sanaa (AFP)
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Houthis Force Supporters to Visit Graves, Prove Loyalty

A Yemeni at a Houthi cemetery in Sanaa (AFP)
A Yemeni at a Houthi cemetery in Sanaa (AFP)

Houthi militias have forced loyalists and government officials to visit the graves of dead militants during Eid celebrations, including the tomb of the head of the Supreme Political Council, Saleh al-Sammad. who was killed in 2018 during a strike carried out by the coalition to support the legitimacy in Yemen.

Millions of Yemenis in areas under Houthi control continue to suffer from miserable living conditions.

The militias continue to pressure officials and residents in Sanaa to organize group visits to the graves of the dead, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The sources pointed out that the group's pressures resulted in organizing group visits by officials and residents in Sanaa over the past few days to some of the graves of the dead militants.

The militias seek to mislead and deceive the local and international public opinion that their dead are popular in Yemeni society.

The group also exploits religious and other sectarian occasions to attract more young recruits, school students, and relatives of the dead.

Meanwhile, sources close to Houthis in Sanaa told Asharq Al-Awsat that the militia allocated sums of money to finance the daily visits to the graves through the so-called "General Authority for Martyrs Families Welfare."

Yemeni politicians in Sanaa said that the Houthi leaders spend lavish money and food aid on their supporters and provide care for the families of their dead through many entities that the group has established.

Residents of several neighborhoods in Sanaa told Asharq Al-Awsat that the militia's supervisors recently forced them to leave their homes en masse to visit cemeteries.

Some residents said that the coup supervisors threatened "absentees" with blacklists, saying those who didn't attend the visits will be denied access to some aid and liquefied domestic gas (LNG).

The residents pointed out that the group's supervisors transported residents of some neighborhoods of different ages in Sanaa to the cemeteries on buses.

Bashir, a resident of the al-Nahda neighborhood, confirmed that the group targets new communities each day, forcing their residents to visit the graves of Sammad and another officials across the governorate.

Residents of various Sanaa neighborhoods complained to Asharq Al-Awsat earlier about the continued pressure and Houthi violations on forced mass visits to graves.

Several months ago, the militias forced senior officials and government employees under their control and the residents to visit the graves designated for their dead.

They also ordered school principals to organize field trips to visit the cemeteries.

Yemeni local sources stated earlier that the coup built over 100 new cemeteries for its dead in seven governorates under its control: Sanaa, Saada, al-Mahweet, al-Hodeidah, Raymah, Ibb, and Dhamar to be added to the already established 400 cemeteries.



Several Killed in Israeli Airstrike North Gaza Town amid Ceasefire Disputes

Palestinians reported more airstrikes and heavy fighting in northern Gaza, which has been largely isolated by Israeli troops for months and where the World Food Program says a famine is underway (File photo)
Palestinians reported more airstrikes and heavy fighting in northern Gaza, which has been largely isolated by Israeli troops for months and where the World Food Program says a famine is underway (File photo)
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Several Killed in Israeli Airstrike North Gaza Town amid Ceasefire Disputes

Palestinians reported more airstrikes and heavy fighting in northern Gaza, which has been largely isolated by Israeli troops for months and where the World Food Program says a famine is underway (File photo)
Palestinians reported more airstrikes and heavy fighting in northern Gaza, which has been largely isolated by Israeli troops for months and where the World Food Program says a famine is underway (File photo)

At least five Palestinians were killed, including two local journalists, and others wounded on Saturday in an Israeli strike on Gaza's northern Beit Lahiya town, medics told Reuters, as Hamas' leaders hold Gaza ceasefire talks with mediators in Cairo.

Several were critically injured as the strike hit a car, with casualties inside and outside the vehicle, the medics added.

Witnesses and fellow journalists said the people in the car were on a mission for a charity called Al-Khair Foundation in Beit Lahiya, and they were accompanied by journalists and photographers when the strike hit them.

The incident underscores the fragility of the January 19 ceasefire agreement that halted large-scale fighting in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian health officials say dozens of people have been killed by Israeli fire despite the truce.

Responding to some of the incidents reported by Gaza medics, the Israeli military says its forces have intervened to thwart threats by "terrorists" approaching its forces or planting bombs on the ground near where forces operate.

Since a temporary first phase of the ceasefire expired on March 2, Israel has rejected opening the second phase of talks, which would require it to negotiate over a permanent end to the war, the main demand of Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The incident coincided with a visit by Hamas' exiled Gaza chief, Khalil Al-Hayya, to Cairo for further ceasefire talks aimed at resolving disputes with Israel that could risk a resumption of fighting in the enclave.

On Friday, Hamas said it had agreed to free an American-Israeli dual national if Israel begins the next phase of ceasefire talks towards a permanent end to the war, an offer Israel dismissed as "psychological warfare."

Hamas said it had made the offer to release New Jersey native Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old soldier in the Israeli army, after receiving a proposal from mediators for negotiations on the second phase of a ceasefire deal.

Israel says it wants to extend the ceasefire's temporary first phase, a proposal backed by US envoy Steve Witkoff. Hamas says it will resume freeing hostages only under the second phase.

The war began when Hamas carried out a cross-border raid into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and capturing 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's subsequent assault on Gaza has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials, and reduced much of the territory to rubble and led to accusations of genocide and war crimes that Israel denies.