A huge crowd of Yemenis today took part in a solidarity march with the Palestinians of Gaza in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen controlled by the Houthi rebels, footage broadcast by AFP television showed.

Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, rebels have held weekly demonstrations in Sana’a. The Houthis, backed by Iran, Israel’s sworn enemy, are also increasing their attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea and have claimed responsibility for missile launches intercepted in the zone.

According to Houthi spokesman Mohammad Abdel Salam, today’s demonstration was “the biggest” so far.

“Millions of people participated,” he claimed in a post on the X platform.

Many protesters carried Palestinian flags and placards with pro-Palestinian slogans. The crowd chanted “Death to America, death to Israel.”

An AFP photojournalist said he saw helicopters and fighter jets flying over the protesters, many of whom were armed.

Massive demonstrations were also organized in other areas of Yemen controlled by the Houthis.