Yemen’s Health Ministry said on Thursday that the death toll in the Israeli airstrikes that hit the Yemeni capital of Sanaa and the Jawf province on Wednesday has risen to 46, including 11 women and five children.
Another 165 people were wounded in the attacks, including 31 children and 29 women. Health Ministry spokesman Anis al-Asbahi said the numbers were a “non-final toll,” suggesting it could rise if rescue workers dig more dead or wounded people out of the rubble.
The majority of those killed, 38, died in the strikes on Sanaa, which targeted residential areas in the al-Tahrir neighborhood. Photos and videos of the aftermath show a significant amount of rubble in the neighborhood and children who were wounded in the attack.
Despite the heavy Israeli strikes, the Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, remain defiant and announced more attacks on Israel on Thursday. “The missile force of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a military operation targeting an Israeli military target in the Negev region using a Palestine 2 hypersonic ballistic missile,” said Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree.
The Israeli military said that it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen, while Saree said the attack achieved its goal because it caused “millions of herds of usurping Zionists to flee to shelters.” Saree also said that Yemeni forces fired three drones at Israel and vowed that the attacks would continue until there’s a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the Israeli blockade on the Palestinian territory.
“We will continue our support operations for Gaza until the aggression against it stops and the siege is lifted,” Saree said. The Houthis stopped their attacks on Israel and blockade on Israeli shipping during the short-lived Gaza ceasefire that went into effect in January 2025, which Israel violated in March 2025.
The Houthis are known for their resilience and did not back down in the face of a very heavy US bombing campaign that the Trump administration conducted from March 15 to May 6, which killed more than 250 civilians. The US gave up on trying to get the Houthis to stop their attacks on Israel and blockade of Israeli shipping and agreed to a ceasefire with the group.
