Yemen Market Strike Kills 13

Thirteen people died and 16 others were wounded when Saudi-led airstrikes hit a crowded market in al-Hazm, the capital of Yemen’s al-Jawf province, according to the Houthi-run Health Ministry. The ministry stated that the strikes occurred on Wednesday while the central market, located near a gas station, was filled with shoppers. Three women were among the injured, and shops and houses in the immediate vicinity suffered heavy damage.

The Health Ministry called the attack a war crime and demanded an international investigation. The Saudi-backed Yemeni government did not release an immediate statement. In the southern city of Aden, an Associated Press reporter witnessed explosions that shattered windows at the airport building and nearby homes. This followed a warning from Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree, who urged everyone at the airport to evacuate. Saree claimed a Saudi military cargo plane carrying weapons was present, though he did not provide evidence for that assertion.

Meanwhile, the siege of Taiz has tightened, prompting Yemeni government officials to appeal to the international community for help protecting civilians and reopening roads into the city. Taiz province has become a major battlefront in recent weeks. The city, which serves as a gateway to the country’s south, has taken in approximately half of Yemen’s population displaced by the latest fighting. This influx has strained the city’s limited resources.

Nabil Shamsan, the governor of Taiz, said residents have lost access to roughly 3 million liters of water from wells in Wadi al-Dhubab. He stated that this area is now under Houthi control, a claim the Associated Press could not independently verify. Shamsan reported that fighting has intensified across the province as the Houthis deploy reinforcements to multiple fronts, encircling the city on all four sides.

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 struck Taiz city districts in recent days. He called for measures to cut off the rebels’ weapon supplies and funding.

In southern Gaza, two Israeli strikes killed one person and wounded at least six others on Wednesday, according to health officials at Nasser Hospital. The first strike killed one man and critically wounded a woman. A second strike wounded at least five others. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. More than 1,550 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since a ceasefire between Israel and 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. The officer, a member of an elite unit, was slightly wounded in the face during the incident. Serbia’s Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said police are treating the incident as a terrorist attack and have raised the terror threat level to the highest. He described the attacker as a minor carrying two knives who shouted Allahu Akbar while attacking the guard. Police presence at key locations was increased following the event.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said a Monday meeting in Tehran between Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey offered an opportunity to advance dialogue and regional peace. He stated that the countries should be responsible for their own security without the military presence of extraregional powers. The talks took place amid speculation about a return to all-out war. Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty held telephone calls with his Saudi and Emirati counterparts to discuss political solutions to the ongoing crisis. Egypt approved military support for Saudi Arabia to defend against Houthi attacks earlier this week.