Yemen’s Houthi rebels have accused Saudi Arabia of carrying out a deadly air strike on a prison facility in the northern province of Jawf, which killed at least seven people and injured several others. The incident has further stoked Yemen’s worsening conflict, which has seen a fragile ceasefire crumble and war between Iran-backed Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces escalate again.
Houthi officials said the strike targeted the Central Corrective Facility in the city of Hazm, the capital of Jawf province. Anees al-Asbahi, a Houthi ministry official, said seven people, including a child, were killed in the attack. Seven people, including a woman, were wounded and were taken to hospital for treatment.
The prison warden told Houthi-backed broadcaster al-Masirah TV that dozens were trapped under the rubble following the strike. According to his statement, about 35 prisoners and a woman who had been visiting her husband at the facility were buried under the collapsed structure.
Al-Masirah’s footage showed extensive destruction at the prison complex. Large sections of the building had collapsed, so there were piles of concrete slabs, twisted metal and rubble all over the place. Rescue workers and residents were seen searching through the rubble, trying to find survivors.
Houthi military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree strongly condemned the attack, accusing Saudi Arabia of conducting air strikes in Jawf and carrying out what he described as “massacres” against civilians. He also claimed that Saudi forces had deployed reconnaissance drones in the region and supplied weapons to anti-Houthi fighters waging war in several provinces.
"The ongoing Saudi aggression against Yemen will not go unanswered or unpunished,” Saree said in a statement. Saudi officials had not yet commented on the allegations at the time of publication, the report said.
Later that day, Saree said Houthi forces had successfully shot down four Saudi reconnaissance drones in 24 hours. One of the drones was in Bayda province when it was targeted and was flying over the province, he said.
Dozens trapped after Saudi strikes hits prison facility in Al Jawf region of Yemen, Houthi media claims. pic.twitter.com/rCex9wKbfd
— AZ Intel (@AZ_Intel_) September 7, 2026
The latest allegations come as the military is intensifying its offensive on Yemen. Government-backed forces have pushed on in Jawf, Marib, Bayda and Dahle provinces, the report. The escalation is the largest since the relative calm that followed the ceasefire agreement in 2022.
Yemen’s terrible conflict started in 2014 when the Houthis seized control of the capital, Sanaa, forcing the internationally recognised government to flee. Saudi Arabia led a coalition of Arab countries in a military campaign to restore the government and push back Houthi advances in 2015.
The war has resulted in widespread destruction, economic collapse and one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. According to United Nations estimates, at least 150,000 people have been killed since the conflict began, millions of people have been displaced, and food shortages have become a major problem for many.
Prisons have long been caught in the crossfire of Yemen’s war. In January 2022, a Saudi-backed coalition strike on a detention centre in Saada province killed at least 87 prisoners and injured hundreds more. Another major incident occurred in September 2019 when a strike hit a Houthi-run detention facility in Dhamar province, killing more than 100 people.
Human rights organisations have repeatedly said they expect all sides to respect international humanitarian law and take more precautions against non-combatants.
As rescue efforts are still being made and investigations into the incident continue to be launched in Hazm, there are fears that the death toll could be higher if more victims are unearthed from under the rubble. The attack also indicates the risk of a wider regional escalation as Yemen’s long-running conflict enters a new and increasingly violent phase.
