Houthis say Saudi strike near Sanaa killed 22, mostly women and children

On Saturday, Houthi media reported that Saudi airstrikes in Yemen's Sanaa province had resulted in the deaths of 22 people, the majority of whom were women and children. The United Nations has documented over 1,600 fatalities and over 300,000 displaced individuals since the civil war reignited in the impoverished nation. According to the Houthis' Saba news agency, the death toll from the Saudi "airplane massacre" in the Al-Shariyah area has climbed to 22, with 30 people wounded.

Al-Masirah TV, affiliated with the Iran-backed group, corroborated the same figures. Earlier on Saturday, Saba disclosed that efforts to retrieve victims from the wreckage were ongoing, and that two strikes had targeted medical personnel. Al-Masirah broadcast footage purportedly captured in Al-Shariyah, depicting smoke emanating from a struck site, debris strewn across the area, and wounded individuals in hospital.

Saudi Arabia, which is engaged in Yemen in support of the internationally recognized government, has yet to comment on the report. The Saudi-led coalition stated in a statement on Saturday that it had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi missile headed towards Riyadh province. On Friday, an attack on a market in Taiz province claimed the lives of 30 people.

The Houthis attributed the Saudi airstrikes to the conflict, while Yemen's government forces accused the Iran-backed group of firing a ballistic missile at the site. Yemen's civil war reignited in July after years of relative peace, sparking a new front in the Middle East's conflict. Since then, Saudi Arabia has consistently bombed Houthi positions, while the group has intensified its assaults on the oil-rich kingdom.