SANA, Yemen — Yemen’s Houthi rebels said on Sunday that they had agreed to a five-day cease-fire proposed by Saudi Arabia that would allow humanitarian relief supplies to be delivered to the country, according to statements carried by a Houthi news agency.
Yet as the Houthis accepted the limited truce, the Saudi-led military coalition bombed the residential compound of Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen’s former president and the Houthis’ most important ally in the war. The residence, in Sana, the Yemeni capital, was struck at least seven times early Sunday, according to witnesses. Mr. Saleh, who survived, made a defiant statement on television afterward, using the rubble of his compound as a backdrop.
The cease-fire would begin at 11 p.m. Tuesday. Since proposing a halt in the hostilities last week, the Saudi-led coalition has escalated its bombing campaign, apparently trying to inflict as much damage as possible on the Houthis and their allies before any pause in the conflict.
The airstrikes on Mr. Saleh’s residence and in the northern province of Saada, a Houthi stronghold, also seemed to reflect a need by the Saudi-led coalition to claim a military victory — perhaps by killing pro-Houthi leaders — after a six-week campaign that analysts say has failed to meet most of its original goals.
More than 1,400 people, most of them civilians, have been killed since March, when Saudi Arabia began the aerial assault against the Houthis, a Shiite movement from the north that had taken control of Yemen’s capital and forced the government from power.
The Houthis have weathered the onslaught and continued to fight for control of several parts of Yemen.
In a statement accepting the cease-fire, the Houthis said the group would “respond” to any violation of the truce by “Al Qaeda or those who stand with them.” The Houthis frequently assert that their opponents, who include southern separatists; supporters of Abdu Rabbo Mansour Hadi, Yemen’s exiled president; moderate Islamists; and more hard-line groups, all belong to Al Qaeda.
The Saudi escalation over the last few days had drawn sharp criticism from human rights groups as well as the United Nations. Saudi officials told residents of Saada on Friday to leave the area and declared the entire province a military zone.
In a statement on Saturday, Johannes van der Klaauw, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator, said the threats against Saada had “put countless civilians at risk.”
“The indiscriminate bombing of populated areas, with or without prior warning, is a contravention of international humanitarian law,” he added.
Mr. Saleh’s residence in Sana itself sits in a densely populated area, and near large shopping malls. Several airstrikes hit his compound overnight and early Sunday, slightly injuring a grandson and a brother-in-law of Mr. Saleh and two other people, according to people close to the former president who asked not to be named to discuss what happened.
On Sunday morning, Mr. Saleh appeared on a local television channel, wearing a blazer and tie, in front of the ruins, condemning the strike as he taunted his attackers.
The bombing had not targeted him, but “the nation,” he said. He warned citizens to be alert for “sleeper cells,” working on behalf of the Saudis, and promised compensation for victims of the military campaign.
Mr. Saleh ruled Yemen for more than three decades and left office in 2012 after an uprising against his autocratic rule. The deal that secured his exit — while also providing him with immunity from prosecution — was brokered by Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states.
But he remains an influential figure in Yemen. Security forces still loyal to him have fought alongside the Houthis, participating in the vicious siege of the port city of Aden, where hundreds of people have been killed.
“With rockets and warplanes, you do not achieve any of the goals you seek,” Mr. Saleh said on Sunday, needling the Saudis. “You are welcome on the ground: Move and we will meet you with a wonderful welcome.”
After his television appearance, warplanes bombed Mr. Saleh’s compound again.
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