Yemenis were on Sunday marking the first day of the Muslim Eid al-Fitr festival amid an escalating military faceoff between the Iran-aligned Houthi militia and the United States as well as economic woes in the war-devastated country.
Eid al-Fitr, one of the holiest occasions in the Islamic calendar, marks the end of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan.
Early Sunday, the militia-affiliated media said several US airstrikes were launched against sites in the Houthi-controlled provinces of Sana’a and Sa’ada. The media did not report casualties.
A Houthi military spokesman claimed the group’s forces had clashed with “hostile” warships and the US aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman in the Red Sea three times over the past 24 hours.
There was no immediate comment from the United States either on the reported airstrikes or the reported clashes in the Red Sea.
Since the start of the Gaza conflict in October 2023, the Houthis have repeatedly attacked Israel and international merchant ships in support of its ally, the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement.
Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump ordered massive attacks on the Houthis, justifying the move with protecting US shipping in the region.
The US has since conducted a series of strikes in the Houthi-ruled areas in Yemen.
The latest escalation has cast a pall on Yemenis’ Eid celebrations.
“We don’t feel the Eid atmosphere. But we try to enjoy it and resist all the tragedies and pain for the sake of our innocent children,” Ali Mohammed, a resident of Sana’a, said.
“Eid rituals are no longer what they used to be. We have become exhausted due to war and poverty,” he told dpa.
For Mohammed, the circumstances in Yemen have compelled many to cancel Eid celebrations because they could not afford to buy new clothes and sweets, major features of the Eid.
Agreeing, Abeer al-Hajj, a housewife from the Ibb province, around 193 kilometres south of Sana’a, said the Eid joy is incomplete due to the war in Gaza and Yemen.
“How can we rejoice when the smell of death is everywhere and the scenes of the bodies of victims never stop?” she added.Some other Yemenis sounded happy over the Eid despite the dire situation in the country, though.
Hashem al-Qudsi, a resident of Sana’a, is one of them.”No circumstances will deter us from observing the Eid rituals. We will enjoy its joy despite the bombing, despite the war, and despite everything,” he said.
“The smell of Eid cookies and incense still permeates many Yemeni houses. And Eid clothes, albeit modest, remain essential, along with visiting relatives and friends,” al-Qudsi added.
Yemen has been embroiled in a disastrous power struggle since 2014, between government forces, supported by a Saudi Arabia-led alliance, and the Iran-linked Houthi rebels.
The UN considers the conflict a humanitarian disaster. The war has taken a heavy toll on the infrastructures in the impoverished country.