Sanaa, Nov 9 (NationPress) The Houthi faction in Yemen has reported the arrest of multiple Yemeni individuals accused of engaging in espionage on behalf of Israel in the capital city of Sanaa.

According to their statement, the Houthis alleged that these detainees were working with the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, via a collaborative operation room based in Saudi Arabia, purportedly involving three foreign intelligence entities—Israel, the United States, and Saudi Arabia, as reported by Xinhua news agency.

They further asserted that those arrested had undergone training to compose intelligence documents, surveil both civilian and military sites, and track the movements of officials within the group.

Details regarding the exact number of arrests or any substantiating evidence for these espionage claims were not disclosed by the Houthis.

The group announced that “confessions” from the detainees would be aired later in the day on their official satellite channel, al-Masirah.

A source affiliated with the group indicated that a significant number of those apprehended are employees of various United Nations humanitarian organizations, including the World Food Program (WFP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

This incident follows a recent event where the UN successfully negotiated the release of 20 foreign aid workers, facilitated by Iran and Oman, who were subsequently evacuated from Yemen, according to a UN statement.

UN Special Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, recently noted that at least 53 Yemeni nationals employed by UN aid organizations remain incarcerated by the Houthis, along with numerous other Yemeni individuals associated with NGOs and foreign diplomatic missions.

The arrests occurred in the wake of Israeli airstrikes in August that resulted in the deaths of several members of the Houthi-led cabinet, including their military chief of staff, Mohammed Abdulkarim Al-Ghamari.

In response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's televised declaration last week, which labeled the Houthis as a threat to Israel's existence and vowed to eradicate the group, the Houthis have intensified security protocols in Sanaa and announced a general mobilization.

The Houthis, who govern a substantial portion of northwestern Yemen, including Sanaa, have launched numerous ballistic missiles and drone attacks targeting Israeli air and naval ports, as well as vessels linked to Israel in the Red Sea, demonstrating their solidarity with Palestinians since the onset of the Gaza conflict in October 2023. However, they have refrained from such assaults since the ceasefire was established last month.