Six killed, dozens injured as Israeli jets strike multiple sites in Sanaa

Yemen’s capital Sanaa was pounded by Israeli airstrikes on Sunday, leaving at least six civilians dead and more than 80 wounded, in one of the heaviest bombardments in weeks.

The strikes came after Yemen’s Houthi movement launched a missile at Israel in solidarity with Palestinians enduring genocide-level conditions in Gaza.

Witnesses described terrifying scenes as explosions shook residential areas near the presidential palace and a closed military academy. “The house was rocked, and the windows were shattered,” said Sanaa resident Ahmed Al-Mekhlafy, speaking by phone as smoke billowed over the city.

Houthi-run media reported that an oil facility was also struck, with footage showing a massive fireball lighting up the night sky. The strikes crippled energy infrastructure, including key power plants, in what Yemeni officials condemned as “collective punishment” of civilians.

Yemenis stand firm with Gaza despite devastation

The Houthis, who govern much of northern Yemen, said their missile attack on Israel targeted Ben Gurion Airport in retaliation for the ongoing massacre of Palestinians. They vowed their operations “will not stop, God willing, unless the aggression ends and the siege on Gaza is lifted.”

Yemeni officials accused Israel of escalating a regional war that has already devastated Gaza and destabilised the Red Sea. “Israel must know that we will not abandon our brothers in Gaza, whatever the sacrifices,” said senior Houthi figure Abdul Qader Al-Murtada.

Regional consequences and blockade escalation

The Israeli military confirmed the strikes, boasting that more than 10 warplanes participated in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a “heavy price” for Yemen’s defiance. Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel would tighten its air and naval blockade on Yemen, further strangling a nation already crippled by years of conflict and humanitarian crisis.

For over a year, Yemen’s resistance movement has disrupted Israeli-linked shipping in the Red Sea in protest at the Gaza assault, targeting more than 100 vessels between late 2023 and 2024. The attacks have highlighted the Houthis’ determination to challenge Israeli and Western influence in the region, despite bearing the brunt of devastating retaliatory strikes.

Sunday’s bombardment underscores the widening scope of Israel’s war, spreading suffering beyond Gaza to Yemen, where millions already face hunger and collapsing infrastructure.