Geneva – SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties expressed deep concern over the escalating Israeli aggression on Yemeni territory, which peaked over the past two days with intensified airstrikes targeting civilian infrastructure in the capital Sana’a, as well as in the governorates of Al-Hodeidah and Amran. The organization stated that these airstrikes, carried out with the participation of more than 30 warplanes, resulted in civilian casualties and caused catastrophic damage to the country’s vital infrastructure.

According to SAM, the Israeli attacks, which began on Monday, May 5, 2025, and continued through Tuesday, May 6, targeted Sana’a International Airport, where three civilian aircraft belonging to Yemen Airways—used for transporting patients and passengers—were completely destroyed. The strikes also hit the departure terminal, the runway, and extended to Haziz and Dhahban power stations, a cement factory in Amran, as well as the Al-Hodeidah port and its critical piers, including a cement factory in Bajil district. According to data from the Ministry of Health under the authority in Sana’a, the attacks killed at least seven civilians and injured more than 77 others, some of them critically.

The organization emphasized that the humanitarian impact of these attacks is likely to be severe. The destruction of three Yemen Airways civilian aircraft—used for patient transport—alongside the disruption of electricity services in densely populated areas of the capital, could severely undermine healthcare delivery, water and sanitation systems, and pose direct threats to civilian lives, particularly the elderly and the ill.

SAM further warned that the economic consequences of these airstrikes would be catastrophic as well. The bombing led to the shutdown of Al-Hodeidah Port, which serves as the entry point for 80% of Yemen’s imports of food and medicine. Five of the port’s piers sustained damage—some entirely—raising the risk of severed supply chains, surging prices, and rising hunger levels in a country already facing the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

SAM underlined that the targeting and total destruction of Sana’a International Airport constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, particularly the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, which explicitly prohibit the targeting of civilian infrastructure and the use of military force against non-military objects. The organization also considered the bombing of the power stations and Al-Hodeidah Port to be dual crimes, given that these facilities serve as lifelines for millions of Yemenis by providing electricity and access to essential food supplies.

The organization asserted that these actions amount to war crimes under Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, constituting grave breaches of the principles of distinction and proportionality outlined in international humanitarian law. SAM highlighted that the attacks reflect a policy of collective punishment—prohibited under international legal standards—and represent an unjustified escalation that further complicates the regional situation while exposing civilians to indiscriminate and unnecessary military violence. The organization stressed the urgent need to activate the principle of individual criminal responsibility to hold accountable the military and political leaders involved in ordering or executing these attacks.

SAM called on the international community, including the United Nations, the Security Council, and the Human Rights Council, to intervene urgently to halt this escalation, explicitly condemn the Israeli airstrikes on Yemen, and hold those responsible for these grave violations against civilians accountable. The organization also urged the formation of an independent international investigative committee to assess the damages and violations, ensure reparations for victims, rehabilitate damaged civilian infrastructure, and protect remaining facilities from any future attacks.