A series of Israeli airstrikes on Yemen last Wednesday damaged the National Museum in the capital, Sanaa, according to the Houthi culture ministry.
The attacks, part of clashes between Israeli forces and Houthi militants that have been ongoing since the war in Gaza began, killed more than 45 people and injured 165, according to the Houthi health ministry. They struck Sanaa as well as the northern province of Al-Jawf.
Images and video footage released by the Associated Press show the National Museum’s plaza strewn with debris. The building’s windows and doors are completely shattered, with promotional banners depicting works from its collection scattered across the courtyard.
“It is true that the circulated video shows only the courtyard,” Amida Sholan, an archaeologist and professor at Sanaa University, tells The Art Newspaper. “However, the damage extended to the museum’s main hall, where a number of artefacts and photographs are on display, as well as to the museum’s doors, windows and storage rooms.”
Sholan, who was outside Yemen when the attack occurred, says she has not yet been able to confirm with colleagues whether any artefacts were damaged. She warns, however, that the structural damage has compromised security, putting the museum’s collection at risk. “Our greatest concern at the moment is the risk of looting, especially since all of the doors and windows have been completely destroyed,” she says. Sholan points out that the early-20th-century building itself is a historic landmark.
The National Museum, originally established in 1971, was recently closed for around 10 years due to the war in Yemen, and reopened to the public in May 2023. It is home to tens of thousands of objects, and its collection includes ancient artefacts, manuscripts and sculptures from pre-Islamic periods, as well as items documenting Islamic history and Yemen’s more recent past.
“We welcome any efforts to document the damage, as it helps draw the attention of the international community to the seriousness of the situation and the urgent need to protect Yemen’s heritage,” Sholan says.
The Old City of Sanaa, a Unesco World Heritage Site, is also located near the blasts—but does not appear to have been damaged. The metropolis, which has been inhabited for more than 2,500 years, became an outpost of the Yemenite kingdom in the second century BC and was later a key inland trade hub. The city’s architecture reflects Christian influence under Abyssinian rule, the city’s transformation into a centre of Islam from the seventh century and later Ottoman reconstruction.
A Unesco spokesperson says the organisation suspended all activities in Houthi-controlled areas after four of its staff were detained by the de facto authorities, and remain in custody. “Unesco has not yet been able to verify the damages to cultural heritage as the organisation has no presence in Sanaa,” the spokesperson says.
Most of Yemen’s northwest has been governed by the Houthis since they ousted the former Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi in 2014.
The culture ministry has called on Unesco to condemn the attack and intervene to help protect the historical buildings and their collections. Unesco did not respond to The Art Newspaper’s request for comment by the time of publication.
Sholan adds that while the strikes targeted government buildings, they also affected residential areas and a “very busy main street—the heart of the markets, with heavy traffic, bus stations, shops and commercial markets”.
