By Frank Ulom
AL-SHAAB (CONVERSEER) – Hundreds of mourners gathered in Sana’a on Tuesday for the funeral of 31 journalists killed in Israeli airstrikes last week, marking one of the deadliest incidents involving media professionals in the region.
The funeral service, held at al-Shaab mosque in the Yemeni capital, saw coffins carrying the slain reporters lined up as crowds paid their final respects. Following prayers, the caskets were carried in a procession accompanied by an honour guard.
The journalists were among dozens of people killed in a series of Israeli air raids on Sana’a last Wednesday. According to the health ministry in the Houthi-controlled northwest, the strikes targeted a military headquarters, residential neighbourhoods, and a petrol station.
The attacks came in retaliation after a drone launched by Iran-backed Houthi rebels breached Israeli air defences and struck an airport in southern Israel. The incident intensified tensions, as Israel has repeatedly carried out airstrikes in response to Houthi missile and drone attacks launched in solidarity with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The deaths of the 31 reporters have drawn condemnation from press freedom advocates, who warn of the growing risks facing journalists covering conflicts across the Middle East.
The Houthis, who control much of northern Yemen, said the strikes further highlight their claim of standing with Palestinians in Gaza, where the war between Israel and Hamas has continued to escalate.
Funeral attendees in Sana’a mourned not only the loss of human lives but also the silencing of voices that had documented the conflict from inside Yemen.
