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Houthi-run Saba news agency reported that at least 25 civilians died in an airstrike on the town of al-Shariyah east of Sanaa with many of the dead reported as women and children. Al Masirah television broadcast live images of rescue teams pulling bodies from collapsed buildings and carrying the injured to nearby medical facilities. The Houthi health ministry cited in Al Jazeera coverage placed the toll at 25 killed and around 30 wounded while describing the event as deliberate targeting of a residential area. Saba news agency said aircraft followed up with attacks on paramedics according to its dispatch.
No immediate statement came from the Saudi-led coalition that backs Yemen’s recognised government Reuters noted in parallel reporting. Houthi media circulated video showing smoke rising over debris piles at the site with rescue operations continuing into the afternoon. The claim follows a deadly strike on a market in Taiz province’s al-Waziiya district one day earlier that killed at least 30 people.
Houthis blamed Saudi airstrikes for the market deaths while Yemeni government forces accused the group of firing a ballistic missile at the location Al Jazeera reported. Neither account has been independently verified and both sides have traded blame for civilian casualties in recent fighting around Taiz. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has recorded more than 230 000 people displaced by the escalation since August with civilian casualties rising steadily its updates show.
The conflict has escalated with Houthi missile and drone strikes on Saudi airports and oil sites prompting coalition retaliation. Saudi authorities stated that a Houthi attack on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport in October killed 12 people including foreigners and wounded more than 300 according to the General Authority of Civil Aviation. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree announced multiple operations targeting Saudi troops infrastructure and airports in a statement circulated on social media.
The group has sought to disrupt Saudi airspace and economic targets while Saudi-led forces have struck Houthi positions in Sanaa and other governorates. Al Jazeera coverage linked the latest incidents to wider regional tensions involving Iran-backed groups and spillover from adjacent conflicts. Footage from Al Masirah showed hospital scenes with injured children receiving treatment after the Sanaa province strike.
The Houthi health ministry updated the toll upward during rescue efforts and called for an international investigation into the incident. Saudi Arabia has maintained silence on the specific al-Shariyah claim while confirming the interception of a Houthi missile aimed at Riyadh province on the same day.
