Yemeni Market Strike Kills 13 as Houthi Siege of Taiz Tightens

Saudi-led airstrikes struck a busy market in al-Hazm, the capital of al-Jawf province in northern Yemen, on Wednesday, killing 13 people and wounding 16 others, according to the Houthi-run Health Ministry. The ministry stated that three women were among the injured and that nearby shops and houses sustained heavy damage. The attacks targeted a central market near a gas station while it was filled with shoppers. Houthi officials labeled the incident a war crime and called for an international investigation, though the Saudi-backed Yemeni government did not immediately issue a statement.

In the southern city of Aden, an Associated Press reporter observed explosions that shattered windows at the airport building and surrounding homes. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree urged airport personnel to evacuate after claiming a Saudi military cargo plane carrying weapons was present, although he did not provide evidence for the assertion.

Yemeni government officials are urging the international community to help protect civilians and reopen roads into Taiz as Houthi forces tighten their siege of the city. Taiz province has become a major battlefront in recent weeks, with the city acting as a gateway to the south. The area has absorbed approximately half of Yemen’s population displaced by recent fighting, straining local resources. Governor Nabil Shamsan reported that residents lost access to about 3 million liters of water from wells in Wadi al-Dhubab, a region now under Houthi control. The Associated Press was unable to independently verify that specific figure.

Eshraq al-Maqtari, a legal affairs minister in Yemen’s internationally recognized government, stated that more than 2,000 projectiles and explosives fired by the Houthis hit Taiz city districts in recent days. She called for measures to cut off rebel weapon supplies and funding. Shamsan added that fighting intensified as Houthis deployed reinforcements to multiple fronts, encircling the city on all four sides.

Separately, two Israeli strikes in southern Gaza on Wednesday killed one person and wounded at least six others, according to health officials at Nasser Hospital. One strike killed a man and critically wounded a woman, while the second wounded at least five people. More than 1,550 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by the Israeli military since the ceasefire with Hamas began in October 2025, according to the territory’s health ministry.

In Belgrade, Serbia, a police officer guarding the Israeli Embassy shot and killed a man who attacked him with a knife just after midnight on Wednesday. Serbia’s Interior Minister Ivica Dacic classified the incident as a terrorist attack and raised the threat level to the highest. Dacic described the attacker as a minor carrying two knives who shouted Allahu Akbar during the assault. The officer, a member of the elite Gendarmerie unit, was slightly wounded in the face and killed the assailant in self-defense. Police increased their presence at key locations in the capital.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said a meeting in Tehran on Monday between Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey provided an opportunity to advance regional dialogue. He argued that these nations should be responsible for their own security without the military presence of extraregional powers. Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty also held telephone calls with Saudi and Emirati counterparts to discuss political solutions to the ongoing crisis. Egypt announced this month that it will provide military support to Saudi Arabia to defend against Houthi attacks, a decision approved by the country’s lawmakers earlier this week.