Statement of Condemnation Regarding the Saudi-led Coalition’s Interception of a Civilian Aircraft and the Continued Blockade and Closure of Sana’a International Airport

On Jul 5, 2026

The Entisaf Organization for Women and Children’s Rights condemns the Saudi-led coalition’s interception of a civilian humanitarian aircraft carrying more than 200 Yemeni citizens, including stranded individuals, patients, and the wounded. This constitutes a blatant violation of national sovereignty and international humanitarian law, and a continuation of the blockade imposed on the Yemeni people for over eleven years.

The organization denounces this criminal act, as the targeted aircraft was on a humanitarian mission to transport Yemeni citizens in dire need of medical treatment and family reunification. Its interception poses a direct threat to the lives of civilians, especially women, children, and the sick, and reflects the ongoing restrictions imposed on civilian air traffic and the resulting grave humanitarian consequences.

The organization notes that the continued closure of Sana’a International Airport to civilian flights and the restrictions on travel have exacerbated the suffering of thousands of Yemeni families, deprived patients of their right to treatment, and disrupted access to medical services for humanitarian cases, further worsening the already deteriorating humanitarian situation in the country.

It affirms that these practices constitute a clear violation of the provisions of international humanitarian law, the Geneva Conventions, and the principles of the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, which stipulate respect for the sovereignty of states over their airspace, the guarantee of the safety of air navigation, and the protection of civilians without exception.

The organization also calls for ensuring the opening of Sana’a International Airport to civilian and humanitarian flights without restrictions, and for an end to the use of airports and airspace as a tool of collective punishment, thus guaranteeing the citizens’ right to freedom of movement, medical treatment, and family reunification.

The organization calls upon the United Nations, the Security Council, the Human Rights Council, and all international organizations to assume their legal and humanitarian responsibilities, condemn these violations, work diligently to lift the air blockade on Yemen, guarantee the protection of civilians, and hold those responsible for these grave violations accountable.

The organization also calls upon the international community, the media, and human rights bodies to intensify advocacy and pressure efforts to end the blockade, expose the ongoing violations against civilians, and ensure respect for human rights in Yemen without exception.

Issued by the Entisaf Organization for Women and Children’s Rights
Sana’a
4 July , 2026