Just two hours into a five-day humanitarian ceasefire, bombings resumed once again in Yemen.
Two Saudi-led airstrikes struck Hajjah and Saada provinces early Monday morning, Yemen’s Defense Ministry said.
One person was killed and seven injured in the Hajjah strike on a medical center, which is used as a shelter by Houthi rebels, according to a senior official in the Houthi-controlled defense ministry.
No casualties were reported from the airstrike in Saada.
The Saudi-led coalition — allied with the United States — and Houthi rebels in Yemen had agreed to a five-day humanitarian ceasefire that began at midnight Sunday night.
The temporary truce was intended to allow for the delivery of medical and humanitarian aid, deposed Yemeni President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi said through Saudi Arabia’s state news agency SPA. Hadi fled the country after Houthi rebels launched their offensive in Yemen.
At least 3,000 people have been killed in Yemen since the conflict began in March, according to the United Nations. An estimated 21 million are in need of immediate humanitarian aid, and as many as 1 million people have fled their homes.
Houthi officials, who have declared leadership of Yemen, cautiously accepted.
“Yemen army and forces will only abide by the Saudi announced ceasefire if Saudi Arabia does,” said Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, the Houthi-declared acting president of Yemen.
“Unfortunately, previous ceasefires were not taken seriously and were not implemented on the ground.”
But the Saudi-led coalition backing Hadi says it reserves the right “to respond to any military action” by Houthi rebels. It was not immediately clear what prompted the Saudi-led airstrikes during the ceasefire Monday morning.
The Houthi rebels, a Shiite minority, are backed by Iran. The Sunni-dominated Saudis have led a coalition in strikes against Houthi rebels and other groups.
