By Muhammad Mamman
Israeli warplanes have bombed the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and parts of al-Jawf governorate, killing at least nine people and injuring more than 100 others, according to Yemeni health officials. The assault came barely 24 hours after Israeli forces targeted senior Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar.
Yemen’s Ministry of Health confirmed the toll, reporting 118 people wounded in what it condemned as “Israeli aggression”. Officials warned that the number of fatalities could rise as emergency crews continue to pull survivors from the rubble of flattened buildings.
Witnesses said the strikes tore through civilian areas, hitting residential neighbourhoods in Sanaa’s al-Tahrir district, a medical facility on 60th Street, and a government compound in al-Hazm, the capital of al-Jawf. Firefighters battled blazes late into the night while civil defence teams raced to rescue those trapped beneath collapsed structures.
Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported that a health sector facility in southwest Sanaa and the Moral Guidance Headquarters were among the targets, adding that “martyrs, wounded, and several homes” had been destroyed. The Yemen Oil and Gas Corporation further claimed that a medical station in the capital was directly hit.
In response, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group deployed surface-to-air missiles against Israeli jets, forcing some aircraft to retreat before releasing their payloads. “Our air defences confronted the Zionist aggression… the bulk of the attack was thwarted, thanks be to God,” the Houthis declared on Telegram.
Israel’s military confirmed carrying out the strikes, saying they were aimed at “military targets belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime”, including training camps, a public relations headquarters and a fuel storage facility. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the action as retaliation for a recent Houthi drone strike on Ramon Airport in southern Israel.
“This did not weaken our hand,” Netanyahu wrote on X. “We struck them again at their terror bases, at their facilities, and we will continue to strike. Anyone who attacks us – we will reach them.”
