Play store
At least 33 people have been killed and 39 others injured in Saudi airstrikes on a village near Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, according to the Houthi-run health ministry.
The ministry said the attacks took place on Saturday, the Saba news agency reported.
Reuters described the strikes as among the deadliest reported since fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthis resumed in July. However, the news agency said it could not independently verify the account. Saudi Arabia’s Centre for International Communication said it was looking into the reports.
A UN-mediated truce between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis in 2022 had largely halted attacks by both sides. However, the ceasefire collapsed after fighting resumed.
Since July, Saudi Arabia has carried out airstrikes on Houthi military positions and facilities in support of its Yemeni allies. In retaliation, the Houthis have launched missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports and oil facilities.
The Houthi health ministry said the latest airstrikes targeted Bani Hushaysh, a Houthi stronghold east of Sanaa. Most of the victims were women and children, it added.
Abdul Aziz al-Dailami, director of Sihhatuna Hospital in Sanaa, said many victims, including emergency service workers, remained trapped beneath the rubble.
“Strikes are being carried out one after another. Another attack took place just as rescue workers arrived. We also lost some of our medical staff,” he told Reuters.
He added that many of the injured were in critical condition, suffering head, chest and leg injuries, as well as fractures.
The Saudi-Houthi conflict is being viewed as an extension of the ongoing war between the United States and Iran. However, it has also reignited Yemen’s complex, decade-long conflict, which has triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises and left the Arab world’s poorest country deeply divided.
In October, the International Organization for Migration reported that more than 200,000 people had been displaced since the latest fighting erupted in Yemen. Food shortages have also emerged in several parts of the country.
