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Houthis Release Faisal Rajab 8 Years after his Arrest

Supporters accompany military commander Major General Faisal Rajab (C), on April 30, 2023, following his release by the Houthis in Sanaa. (AFP)
Supporters accompany military commander Major General Faisal Rajab (C), on April 30, 2023, following his release by the Houthis in Sanaa. (AFP)
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Houthis Release Faisal Rajab 8 Years after his Arrest

Supporters accompany military commander Major General Faisal Rajab (C), on April 30, 2023, following his release by the Houthis in Sanaa. (AFP)
Supporters accompany military commander Major General Faisal Rajab (C), on April 30, 2023, following his release by the Houthis in Sanaa. (AFP)

The Iran-backed Houthi group unilaterally released on Sunday Yemeni military commander Major General Faisal Rajab eight years after his arrest.

Rajab’s release is stipulated in United Nations Security Council 2216.

He was detained by the Houthis in 2015 when they were attempting to occupy Aden city, now the interim capital.

UN envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg welcomed the release, tweeting: “I appeal to all parties to build on the progress achieved and intensify the efforts to release all detainees, based on the ‘all for all’ principle as stipulated in the Stockholm Agreement.”

The government warily received the development, saying the Houthis were simply trying to improve their image and drive a wedge between their rivals.

The Houthis claimed that Rajab was released at the initiative of their leader, Abdulmalek al-Houthi.

In the build-up to his release, Houthi media had claimed that the government had abandoned him during the latest prisoner swap negotiations. The government denied the allegations.

Government loyalists described the release as “theatrics”, but still welcomed the initiative and called on the Houthis to free more than thousands of other prisoners according to the “all for all” principle.

A four-member delegation of tribes from Rajab’s Abeen province had traveled to Houthi-held Sanaa to mediate his release with the group. The government said the move was planned so as to polish the Houthis’ image.

A Houthi official said Rajab was being released in honor of the tribal delegation.

Abdul Baset Al-Qaedi, undersecretary at Yemen's Information Ministry, revealed that the governor of Abeen was appointed by the Houthis and every member of the tribal delegation that was in Sanaa “is insignificant and has no influence.”

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Houthis had refused to release Rajab in the last prisoner swap.

Rather they opted to free him “in the dramatic fashion that we saw play out in boring detail in the media,” he added.

He accused the Houthis of lying when they claimed that the government had disregarded Rajab and did not negotiate his release during the last swap.

Resolution 2216 calls for the release of Rajab; former Defense Minister Mahmoud al-Subaihi; Nasser Mansour Hadi, the brother of former President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi; and leading al-Islah Party member Mohammed Qahtan.

Subaihi and Nasser were released during the latest prisoner exchange between the government and Houthis.

The Houthis continue to oppose the release of Qahtan or even allow him to communicate with his family. Rajab reportedly was allowed to communicate with his loved ones only twice during his eight years in prison, said informed government sources.

Fayyad al-Numan, another undersecretary at the Information Ministry, welcomed Rajab’s release.

Such humanitarian files should not be used by the Houthis for political and media extortion, he urged.

The Houthis, he added, continue to “prioritize their discriminatory agenda above all Yemeni interests.”

Rajab’s release is a “failed attempt by the Houthis to improve their ugly image that is stained by the blood of the Yemeni people,” he stated.

“The Houthis are continuing to exploit the prisoner and abductee file to make false media and political gains,” he added.

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Arab World

Yemeni Army Launches Surprise Attack on Houthis in Al-Mudaribah, Killing and Wounding Dozens

Members of Yemen's Southern Giants Brigades near the Bab Al-Mandab Strait (AP)
Members of Yemen's Southern Giants Brigades near the Bab Al-Mandab Strait (AP)
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Yemeni Army Launches Surprise Attack on Houthis in Al-Mudaribah, Killing and Wounding Dozens

Members of Yemen's Southern Giants Brigades near the Bab Al-Mandab Strait (AP)
Members of Yemen's Southern Giants Brigades near the Bab Al-Mandab Strait (AP)

Fighting escalated across several fronts in Yemen on Monday as the government-aligned Nation Shield Forces announced a large-scale offensive against Houthi positions in Lahj province, while government troops and local resistance fighters continued to repel attacks in Taiz, where the Houthis reportedly targeted civilians and an ambulance.

The Nation Shield Forces said units from the Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Brigades of the First Division launched a major surprise assault on Houthi positions and fortifications along the Al-Muhawalah front in Al-Mudaribah and Ras Al-Arah district.

According to a statement issued by the forces, dozens of Houthi militants were killed or wounded in the attack, while others fled their positions, leaving the bodies of their dead scattered across ravines and valleys.

Government forces also announced that the Nation Shield Forces had seized control of the Kahbub front near the Bab Al-Mandab Strait and released footage they said showed their troops deployed across mountainous positions in the area.

The Fourth Military Region separately released footage of a strike against a Houthi military vehicle on the Al-Maqatirah front in Lahj province, saying it had been carrying field supplies and equipment.

In Taiz province, government forces said they were continuing to engage and repel Houthi attacks with support from the Popular Resistance, targeting the group's movements and firing positions along several fronts.

Military sources reported clashes across multiple areas of the province, while civilians were killed or wounded by Houthi fire in separate incidents.

Civilians Targeted in Taiz

Two civilians were killed and a third wounded on Sunday when Houthi fire struck an ambulance transporting an injured man along a main road in the Al-Awat area, west of Al-Shaqab in Sabr Al-Mawadim district, southeast of Taiz city, according to Yemen's official SABA news agency.

The attack killed the wounded man being transported and his father, while injuring a member of the ambulance crew.

The Joint Medical Emergency Committee in Taiz condemned the targeting of ambulances and medical personnel, saying preliminary information indicated that another ambulance had also come under fire in the same area.

The incident marked the third attack on ambulances in Taiz since the latest round of fighting began.

The committee warned that repeated attacks threatened rescue and medical evacuation operations and endangered the lives of civilians and wounded people.

It called on the United Nations, the international community and the International Committee of the Red Cross to intervene to protect medical personnel and ensure the safe passage of ambulances.

Nine other civilians, including two children and two women, were wounded in shelling, gunfire and sniper attacks across several areas, including Al-Najadah in Sabr Al-Mawadim district; Al-Matar Al-Qadeem, Al-Arous, Wadi Al-Bir and Qahmah in Mishra and Hadnan district; and Qahfat Al-Saram in the Al-Aqrood area, southeast of the province.

According to SABA, the injuries were caused by gunfire and artillery shrapnel.

A civilian vehicle also came under fire from a Houthi sniper in Al-Najadah village, leaving two women wounded by shrapnel.

Meanwhile, local sources in Taiz's Al-Shamayatayn district reported the arrival of around 30 members of the Houthis' female security units, known as the Zainabiyat, in Al-Turbah and several surrounding villages and population centers.

The movement raised concerns among residents that the group was preparing to carry out raids on homes.

Observers linked the deployments to ongoing fighting in the neighboring Al-Maqatirah and Al-Mudaribah districts of Lahj province, amid Houthi fears of coordination between government forces and their supporters and Popular Resistance members in districts recently seized by the group.

According to the sources, residents exchanged warnings about the presence of Houthi female security personnel and expressed concerns over their money and valuables, fearing that possession of certain items could be used as a security pretext for abuses against them.

Developments in Al-Jawf and Marib

Government forces announced battlefield advances in the Al-Huwaishiyan and Al-Duhaydhah mountain ranges in Al-Jawf province as military operations continued across the area.

Reports also indicated that airstrikes had targeted Houthi gatherings and military vehicles east of Al-Hazm city.

Artillery fire reportedly struck Houthi positions and vehicles on the northern front in Marib province, where clashes continued along several axes.

On Sunday evening, Yemen's armed forces announced that they had carried out 992 strikes under Operation Fajr Yemen, including 19 airstrikes, 29 drone sorties and 944 artillery and missile attacks.

The military said preliminary figures showed that 267 Houthi militants and commanders had been killed, wounded or forced to flee, while 97 military vehicles and pieces of combat equipment had been destroyed or damaged.

The statement did not specify the period over which all the operations had been conducted.

For his part, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said areas under the group's control had been hit by 91 airstrikes over the preceding 24 hours.

He said the strikes targeted several provinces, including Saada, Taiz, Hajjah, Hodeidah, Al-Jawf and Lahj.

Meanwhile, the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen had announced the destruction of three ballistic missile launchers in Houthi-controlled areas.

According to the coalition, two launchers in Saada had been used in attacks on Riyadh, while a third in Sanaa had been used in an attempted attack on Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province.

Arab World

Four Killed in Gaza after Sand Embankment Collapses on to Tents

A Palestinian child sits beside a pool of rainwater at a camp for displaced people in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A Palestinian child sits beside a pool of rainwater at a camp for displaced people in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
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Four Killed in Gaza after Sand Embankment Collapses on to Tents

A Palestinian child sits beside a pool of rainwater at a camp for displaced people in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A Palestinian child sits beside a pool of rainwater at a camp for displaced people in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Torrential rain in Gaza caused a sand embankment to collapse on to tents, killing a woman and three small children in an incident that highlighted the danger facing hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians as the rainy winter season sets in.

Medics said heavy rain late on Sunday washed away a rocky sand bank abutting a camp for displaced families south of Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza. A woman and two of her children, aged 8 and 6, were killed. A fourth child, aged 4, was also killed, and six others were injured.

Video verified by Reuters showed residents using hammers to break large sandy rocks and others removing sand with shovels searching for people trapped underneath using flashlights.

"What can one say about the situation in Gaza? Whoever did not die from bombs and missiles is dying from buildings collapsing on them, from the collapse of sand and mountains on them," said Amal Al-Zein, 35, a relative of the victims.

Sohaib Abu Darbali, a witness, said the collapse of the embankment sounded like an explosion.

"We found that three tents were covered completely after the mountain collapsed on top of them. People were under the rubble and we couldn't see them," he told Reuters.

'THE ONLY SOLUTION IS RECONSTRUCTION'

The vast majority of Gaza's 2 million population lives in tent encampments or the ruins of bombed-out buildings, with reconstruction yet to begin following Israel's two-year military assault, launched after the 2023 Hamas attacks on southern Israel.

For many of them, this is the fourth winter during which they will need to cope with flood water overtaking their tents and soaking their belongings when it rains.

Local authorities said at least 70,000 tents had been flooded in the first hours after heavy rain began on Saturday.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said humanitarian partners had received appeals from more than 26,000 households reporting damage to shelters or belongings following weekend rainstorms.

A US-brokered ceasefire last year called for the eventual reconstruction of Gaza, but little progress has been made. Negotiators have failed to agree on terms for Hamas to disarm or for Israel to withdraw its troops, which control about two-thirds of the territory and from which residents have been ordered to leave.

Mahmoud Basal, spokesman for Gaza's civil defence service, said people put up their tents next to sand banks believing they could protect them.

"Tents can't protect people, neither from rain nor of the heat, the only solution is reconstruction," Basal told Reuters.

Israel says no reconstruction can happen before Hamas is disarmed.

Arab World

Al-Shaibani: Syrian-Jordanian Relations at Their Strongest in Decades

Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi meets with Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Asaad Al-Shaibani on the sidelines of the second session of the Jordan-Syria Higher Coordination Council, a body established to institutionalize strategic cooperation between the two nations. Photo: dpa
Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi meets with Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Asaad Al-Shaibani on the sidelines of the second session of the Jordan-Syria Higher Coordination Council, a body established to institutionalize strategic cooperation between the two nations. Photo: dpa
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Al-Shaibani: Syrian-Jordanian Relations at Their Strongest in Decades

Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi meets with Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Asaad Al-Shaibani on the sidelines of the second session of the Jordan-Syria Higher Coordination Council, a body established to institutionalize strategic cooperation between the two nations. Photo: dpa
Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi meets with Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Asaad Al-Shaibani on the sidelines of the second session of the Jordan-Syria Higher Coordination Council, a body established to institutionalize strategic cooperation between the two nations. Photo: dpa

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said Syria's security and stability were vital to Jordan and a cornerstone of regional stability.

Speaking at a joint news conference in Damascus with his Syrian counterpart Asaad al-Shaibani, Safadi said Jordan was working with Syria to build a future for a free, secure and stable Syrian state.

"We mourn the civilian victims who lost their lives in the Daraa incident and extend our sincere condolences to their families. Syrian blood is just as precious as Jordanian blood," Safadi said.

He added that a joint security committee had met and agreed on mechanisms to coordinate counterterrorism efforts.

"We are proud of what we have achieved so far and will continue strengthening cooperation between Jordan and Syria," Safadi said, pointing to the signing of 11 agreements aimed at deepening integration between the two countries.

He also reiterated Jordan's condemnation of Israeli attacks on Syrian territory.

For his part, al-Shaibani described Syrian-Jordanian relations as being "at their strongest in decades," reaffirming Damascus' commitment to strengthening ties with Amman across various sectors.

"We have agreed with Jordan to rehabilitate the international highway linking our two countries at a cost of $47 million, as well as to expand the capacity and improve the efficiency of the Nassib border crossing," he said.

"A joint security and technical committee has been established to investigate the Daraa incident and determine the circumstances surrounding it. Efforts are underway to provide redress and compensation to the innocent victims of the strikes," al-Shaibani added.