https://samrl.org/l?e5795 

SAM |

_{8 September 2026}

_{SAM for Rights and Liberties monitored, on 7 and 8 September 2026, the continuation of attacks linked to the military escalation in Yemen and their extension into Saudi territory, amid civilian casualties and damage to shelters for displaced persons, medical facilities, residential neighborhoods, and economic and civilian infrastructure.}

_{Information collected by SAM indicates that two children were killed and 15 other people were injured, including eight children, in shelling that struck a gathering of displaced persons in northern Marib. This occurred alongside reports of shelling in eastern neighborhoods of Taiz city and the impact of a ballistic missile in the vicinity of a hospital in Al-Mokha. In a related development, Saudi authorities announced that 73 civilians, including women and children, were injured in attacks attributed to the Houthi group that struck Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan, and Najran, while the Saudi Ministry of Energy stated that the attacks caused fires and temporarily disrupted some operations at energy facilities in the south of the Kingdom.}

_{Raghwan – Two Children Killed and 15 People Injured at a Gathering of Displaced Persons}

_{On 7 September, the Executive Unit for the Management of IDP Camps in Marib announced that two children had been killed and 15 other people injured, including eight children, after several projectiles struck a gathering of displaced persons in Raghwan District, north of Marib Governorate. The Unit attributed the attack to the Houthi group.}

_{The Yemeni News Agency (SABA) confirmed the casualty toll, citing the Executive Unit, and reported that the shelling also caused extensive damage to the shelters and property of displaced families.}

_{According to the Executive Unit, 16 shelters were damaged, together with the furniture, bedding, household tools, and other basic belongings inside them. As a result, a number of families within a gathering comprising 23 households lost their shelters and essential possessions. Three vehicles were also damaged, one of them severely enough to be rendered out of service.}

_{The nature of the location struck, as a site used to shelter displaced civilians, together with the high number of children among the casualties, raises serious concerns regarding respect for the protections afforded to civilians and civilian objects under international humanitarian law. SAM is working to verify the type of projectiles used, their launch location, the intended target of the attack, and whether any military objective was located within or near the gathering at the time of the shelling.}

_{Al-Kurayfat and Eastern Neighborhoods – Shelling Inside Taiz City}

_{On 7 September, journalist Mohammed Taher reported that the Al-Kurayfat area and several eastern neighborhoods of Taiz city had come under shelling, which he attributed to the Houthi group.}

_{This incident occurred in the context of a series of shelling attacks that struck Taiz city and its surroundings during the preceding days and, according to information monitored by SAM, affected Kalabah, Usayfirah, Jabal Jarrah, Al-Shaqab, Bani Bakari, and other populated areas.}

_{At the time of preparing this briefing, no independently verified casualty toll or assessment of the damage caused by the shelling of Al-Kurayfat and the eastern neighborhoods was available. SAM continues to verify the impact locations, the nature of the affected areas, and whether any potential military objectives were present in or near those locations.}

_{Al-Mokha – Ballistic Missile Strikes the Vicinity of 2 December Hospital}

_{On the evening of 7 September, Aljoumhouriya TV reported that a ballistic missile, attributed to the Houthi group, struck the vicinity of 2 December Hospital in Al-Mokha, western Taiz Governorate. The extent of the human and material damage remained unclear in the first hours following the attack.}

_{SAM stresses that medical facilities enjoy special protection under international humanitarian law and may not be made the object of attack as long as they are performing their humanitarian function and are not being used, outside that function, to commit acts harmful to the enemy. Even in circumstances in which a medical facility loses its protection under the strict conditions established by law, the rules of proportionality and precautions in attack remain fully applicable.}

_{Saudi Arabia – 73 Civilians Injured and Attacks on Civilian and Economic Facilities}

_{On 8 September, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), announced that attacks carried out by the Houthi group targeted civilian and economic objects in Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan, and Najran, injuring 73 civilians, including women and children.}

_{The Saudi statement also referred to the continued targeting of commercial vessels in the Red Sea and threats to freedom of maritime navigation. The published statement, however, did not provide a complete breakdown of the injuries across the four locations or identify the nature of all the objects struck.}

_{In the same context, Reuters reported, citing the Saudi Ministry of Energy, that a number of energy facilities and installations in the southern region of the Kingdom were attacked by the Houthis, causing fires at several locations and temporarily halting some operational activities.}

_{According to published reports, the Houthi group announced that it had carried out attacks using ballistic missiles and drones, saying that it targeted Aramco facilities and other sites in southern Saudi Arabia.}

_{International humanitarian law distinguishes between civilian objects and military objectives. An economic or energy facility does not become a military objective solely because of its economic importance. Rather, by its nature, location, purpose, or use, it must make an effective contribution to military action, and its destruction, capture, or neutralization, in the circumstances ruling at the time, must offer a definite military advantage. Even where a target meets these criteria, the obligations relating to proportionality and feasible precautions to protect civilians remain applicable.}

_{Attacks deliberately directed against the civilian population or civilian objects, as well as attacks employing means or methods that cannot be directed at a specific military objective, are prohibited under international humanitarian law.}

_{Human Rights Implications}

_{The incidents recorded in recent days demonstrate the widening geographical scope of hostilities and the growing risks they pose to civilians, from gatherings of displaced persons, villages, and residential neighborhoods in Marib and Taiz, to medical facilities and evacuation routes used by displaced families, and further to cities and facilities inside Saudi territory.}

_{The Raghwan incident is particularly significant because the attack occurred at a gathering of displaced persons and because children constituted a substantial proportion of the casualties. According to the toll issued by the Executive Unit, at least 10 children were among those killed and injured, including two children killed and eight injured. The targeting of, or damage to, shelters further compounds the vulnerability of families who had already been displaced in search of safety and creates additional humanitarian needs related to shelter, healthcare, and protection.}

_{The recurrence of attacks on populated areas, combined with the use of weapons with significant destructive capacity, including ballistic missiles, requires an incident-specific investigation in each case to determine the intended target, the accuracy of the weapon used, the launch location, the foreseeable civilian impact, and the precautions taken to minimize harm to the population.}

_{SAM stresses that parties to the conflict are at all times required to distinguish between civilians and combatants, and between civilian objects and military objectives; to refrain from indiscriminate attacks; to respect the principle of proportionality; and to take all feasible precautions in the choice of means and methods of attack.}

_{The organization particularly emphasizes the protection of displaced persons, children, medical facilities, and healthcare workers, and the need to ensure that areas where civilians gather, or other protected facilities, are not turned into locations that expose residents to the dangers of military operations.}

_{SAM calls for independent and effective investigations into attacks that have resulted in civilian casualties, including the shelling of the gathering of displaced persons in Raghwan, the recent attacks on residential areas in Taiz, the incident involving 2 December Hospital in Al-Mokha, and the attacks that injured civilians in Saudi Arabia, with a view to determining responsibility for any unlawful attack and ensuring accountability.}

_{SAM continues to collect information and verify the detailed circumstances of these incidents, including casualty figures and ages, the types of weapons used, projectile impact locations, the intended targets, and the extent of damage caused to homes and civilian and medical facilities.}