SAM Organization: Israeli airstrikes on Sanaa turned civilian facilities into "death squares."

Arab Sea Newspaper - News Updates

Arabian Sea - Yemen - Follow-ups: The SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties (based in Geneva) condemned the air strikes carried out by the Israeli enemy's air force on the capital, Sana'a, on Sunday afternoon, which targeted vital civilian facilities that it said had been turned into "death arenas," stressing that they constitute a "war crime" under international laws. In a statement, it explained that the raids that targeted the oil company station on 60th Street and the Haziz power station south of the capital, left dead and wounded among civilians, "in a serious violation of international humanitarian law, which prohibits targeting civilian objects or endangering innocent populations," stressing that continuing to condone these crimes will lead to more human suffering and serious violations. The organization said that the announced toll of victims "reflects that civilians were the actual target of the raids, and not any military site as claimed." The organization pointed out that international law, including the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, considers targeting civilians a war crime that warrants prosecution and accountability. It added that targeting civilian facilities protected under the Geneva Conventions constitutes a war crime, as international law prohibits targeting service facilities on which the population depends in their daily lives, noting that these attacks exacerbate the existing humanitarian crisis in Yemen and expose civilians to double risks, especially in the absence of any preventive measures to protect them. The organization considered that these indiscriminate and excessive attacks reflect a blatant disregard for the peremptory rules of international law, stressing that impunity for the perpetrators has contributed to the recurrence of such violations over the past years. The organization affirmed that the repeated fall of civilian victims proves that Yemenis live in a cycle of continuous violations without protection, calling on the international community to take practical and immediate measures to protect them. The organization called for opening an independent and transparent international investigation into these crimes, and holding those responsible accountable without exception, and also called on the United Nations and the Human Rights Council to activate international protection mechanisms and provide guarantees that such violations will not be repeated. The health authorities affiliated with the Houthi group announced at dawn today that the victims of the Israeli raids had risen to 6 dead and 86 wounded. On Sunday evening, fighters of the Zionist enemy launched a series of raids on Sana'a, targeting the power station in Haziz, south of Sana'a, the oil company on 60th Street North, and the vicinity of the Presidential Palace in the center of the capital. Following that, Israel announced that its attacks targeted "military infrastructure of the Houthis," including a complex that includes the Presidential Palace and the Haziz power station, in addition to a fuel storage site. Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee confirmed that the operation came "in response to repeated attacks launched by the Houthis against Israel."