Houthis say 43 UN workers to be tried on allegations they helped Israel conduct strike

UN denies detained local employees were involved in Aug. 28 attack that killed rebel group’s top leaders, accuses Iran-backed Yemeni rebels of impeding delivery of humanitarian aid

SANAA, Yemen — Forty-three detained local United Nations staff will face trial on suspicion of links to an Israeli airstrike that assassinated top Houthi leaders in August, the acting foreign minister of the Iran-backed Yemeni rebel government, Abdulwahid Abu Ras, has told Reuters.

The Houthi military chief, prime minister and other top ministers were killed as a result of Israel’s August 28 strike on the Houthi-held capital Sanaa, in the first such attack to kill senior officials.

The United Nations has repeatedly rejected Houthi accusations that UN staff or UN operations in Yemen were involved.

“The steps taken by the security agencies were carried out under full judicial supervision. The public prosecution was kept informed step by step with every action taken,” Abu Ras said in an interview with Reuters.

“Therefore, as long as the prosecution is informed, it is certain that this process is moving toward its conclusion, leading to trials and the issuance of judicial rulings,” he said.

Abu Ras said members of the accused cell within the UN’s World Food Programme were clearly involved in directly targeting the Houthi government.

An honor guard lines the road outside Sanaa’s Saleh Grand Mosque as the funeral procession of the military chief of Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, Major General Mohammed al-Ghamari, along with his 13-year-old son, Hussein, and two bodyguards, four days after the group announced al-Ghamari’s death, on October 20, 2025. (Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)

There was no immediate comment from a World Food Programme spokesperson. The United Nations has repeatedly rejected accusations that staff were involved in spying.

At least 59 UN personnel are being held by Houthis, according to the United Nations, which has condemned what it calls arbitrary detentions and called for the immediate release of its personnel and other detainees.

The defendants are Yemenis. According to Yemeni law, they could face the death penalty.

The latest detentions came after Houthi security forces entered several United Nations offices in Sanaa on Sunday.

The UN has accused Houthis of taking steps that have made it increasingly difficult for the agency to provide assistance to those in need in Yemen.

Displaced Yemenis carry humanitarian aid provided by a Kuwaiti charitable organization on March 19, 2024, on the outskirts of the northeastern city of Marib. (AFP)

The acting foreign minister said the Houthi government is supporting other humanitarian organizations.

“We have clarified in a clear and explicit statement from the foreign ministry that we will support and assist organizations committed to the principles of humanitarian work, facilitating their activities and work,” said Abu Ras.

The Houthis have controlled large swathes of Yemen, including Sanaa, since seizing power in 2014 and early 2015 and sparking a war with Saudi Arabia that triggered a massive humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

Abdulwahid Abu Ras, the acting foreign minister of Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, is seen in an undated photo. (Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

The Houthis — whose slogan calls for “Death to America, Death to Israel, [and] a Curse on the Jews” — began attacking Israel and maritime traffic in November 2023, a month after the October 7 Hamas massacre, which sparked the Gaza war.

They have targeted Israel with over 130 ballistic missiles and dozens of cruise missiles and drones, including one that killed a civilian and wounded several others in Tel Aviv in July 2024, prompting Israel’s first strike in Yemen.

Israel has attacked the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, located some 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) away, 19 times.