Another airstrike early Friday hit a telecommunications building in the strategic port city of Hodeidah, causing a nationwide internet blackout, according to NetBlocks, an organization that tracks network disruptions. At least three children were killed in that attack, Save the Children said.
The Norwegian Refugee Council said the internet blackout, which was still ongoing as of Friday evening, would impact aid delivery.
The Iran-back Houthi rebels, who are in control of much of Yemen, blamed the Saudi-led coalition for the strikes. CNN has reached out to the coalition for comment.
A coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates launched an offensive in 2015 to restore Yemen’s internationally-recognized government, after it was ousted by the Houthis. The coalition has intensified its attacks in the wake of a Houthi missile and drone strike in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi earlier this week.
The Houthi-run media outlet Al Masirah showed graphic video of people under rubble in the aftermath of Friday’s detention center strike. The Red Cross said it had sent emergency medical supplies to two hospitals that had received a “very high” number of casualties.
The Saudi-led coalition did not comment on the the strikes on the telecommunications building or the detention center, but said Friday that it had hit the port of Hodeidah, taking down “one of the [Houthis’] dens of maritime piracy and organized crime.”
The coalition also said it attacked “military targets” in the capital Sanaa on Friday, claiming to have conducted the operation “in response to the threat of hostile attacks,” Saudi state-owned SPA said.
“The ICRC is deeply concerned about the intensification of hostilities over recent days, including attacks against cities across Yemen, in Saudi Arabia and in the United Arab Emirates, and deplores the human toll this escalation has caused,” the International Committee of the Red Cross said Friday.
