A Saudi airstrike hit a home in Yemen’s northern Hajjah province on Tuesday, killing a family of six, including four young children, according to the Yemeni Health Ministry within the Ansar Allah-led government.
The ministry said that the children were aged three to eight and that a six-year-old girl was also wounded in the strike. Footage from Yemen’s al-Masirah TV shows the aftermath of the strike and the bodies of the slain children.
The Saudi air campaign in Yemen is supported by the US, which provides intelligence and targeting support, and is again refueling Saudi fighter jets involved in the war after ending such support eight years ago due to pressure from Congress.
Saudi Arabia was notorious for bombing civilian areas in Yemen during its war against Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis, from 2015 to 2022. The conflict was reignited by Saudi airstrikes on the Sanaa international airport in July, shattering a ceasefire that had held relatively well for more than four years.
There’s been a growing number of civilian casualties in the current bombing campaign, which escalated in recent days as Saudi-backed forces have launched an offensive meant to roll back Ansar Allah’s recent gains on the ground. The Yemeni Health Ministry also reported that on Tuesday, a Saudi strike on the Salah District in the Taiz province injured a child and two adults.
Yahya Saree, spokesman for the Ansar Allah-led Yemeni armed forces, said Tuesday that Saudi forces launched dozens of airstrikes and missile attacks over the past 24 hours. “Over the past 24 hours, Saudi warplanes launched 66 airstrikes and missile attacks targeting civilian areas in the governorates of al-Jawf, Taiz, Marib, Hodeidah, Hajjah, and Saada,” he wrote on Telegram.
“These attacks were carried out using F-15 and Typhoon fighter jets, as well as armed reconnaissance aircraft, which took off from bases in Khamis Mushait, Taif, and King Faisal Naval Base. Missile attacks were also launched from Jizan and Najran. These attacks resulted in a number of civilian casualties, mostly women and children. The total number of Saudi-led airstrikes and missile attacks since the escalation against our country has now reached 1,642,” he added.
Ansar Allah has continued heavy missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, with a series of attacks targeting Saudi airports on Monday night. Saudi authorities said that strikes on two airports near the Yemen border resulted in “three minor injuries and material damage.”
