Yemen’s Houthis say 30 dead in strikes on market

In southwest Yemen's Taiz province, the Houthi-controlled area, the group reported that Saudi airstrikes killed 30 people at a market on Friday, while local authorities claimed the Iranian-backed faction carried out the attack. Several strikes hit the market in Al-Waziya city, according to the Houthi health ministry spokesman Anis al-Asbahi, who spoke to Saba news agency.

Eight individuals were wounded, and rescue teams were searching for victims under the debris. The Yemeni government forces accused the Houthis of launching a ballistic missile at the market, labeling it a war crime, while Taiz authorities asserted that the incident involved indiscriminate Houthi missile fire, denying any air raids.

The conflict between the Iran-allied Houthis and the Saudi-backed government intensified in July, marking the start of a new front in the Middle Eastern strife. Since then, Saudi Arabia has conducted regular bombings of Houthi strongholds, whereas the group has escalated its assaults on the oil-rich kingdom. On Friday, the Saudi-led coalition reported intercepting a drone in the Mecca region, without specifying the origin, while the Houthis claimed responsibility for multiple strikes on Saudi airports, oil facilities, and military sites.

However, they frequently deny targeting the sacred cities of Mecca and Medina. The coalition reported intercepting a Houthi missile around Medina on Thursday, a claim the group dismissed as slander.