Houthis claim 13 killed in Yemen market airstrikes as Taiz siege tightens

Iran-backed Houthi rebels reported that Saudi-led airstrikes struck a crowded market in northern Yemen on Wednesday, killing 13 people and wounding 16 others. The Houthi-run Health Ministry stated that the attacks hit al-Hazm, the capital of al-Jawf province, while the central market near a gas station was full of shoppers. Three women were among the injured. The ministry declared the incident a war crime and called for an international investigation, though the Saudi-backed Yemeni government did not issue an immediate response.

In a separate development, Yemeni government officials appealed to the international community for support to protect civilians in Taiz. The city, described as a gateway to the south, is currently under a tightening siege by Houthi forces. Nabil Shamsan, the Taiz governor, said that fighting has intensified as Houthi reinforcements have encircled the city on all four sides. He reported that residents have lost access to approximately 3 million liters of water from wells in Wadi al-Dhubab, an area now controlled by the rebels. The Associated Press noted that it could not independently verify the water claim.

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 have struck Taiz city districts in recent days. She called for measures to cut off the rebels’ weapon supplies and funding. The province has become a major battlefront in recent weeks, absorbing about half of Yemen’s displaced population and straining limited resources.

Meanwhile, an assailant armed with knives attacked a police officer guarding the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia, just after midnight on Wednesday. The officer, a member of an elite Gendarmerie unit, fatally shot the attacker. Serbia’s Interior Minister Ivica Dacic described the assailant as a minor who shouted Allahu Akbar during the attack. Dacic stated that police are treating the incident as a terrorist attack and have raised the terror threat to the highest level. The officer sustained slight facial injuries but survived. Police increased their presence at key locations in the capital.

In Gaza, two Israeli strikes in the south killed one person and wounded at least six others on Wednesday, according to health officials at Nasser Hospital. The first strike killed a man and critically wounded a woman, while a second strike wounded five others. Israel’s military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began in October 2025, more than 1,550 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, according to the territory’s health ministry. U.N. agencies and independent experts generally regard the ministry’s records as reliable.

Diplomatic efforts to manage regional tensions continued in Tehran and Cairo. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said a meeting with officials from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey on Monday provided an opportunity to advance dialogue. He argued that the countries should be responsible for their own security without the military presence of extraregional powers. Araghchi offered no specific details on the outcomes of the talks.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty held telephone calls with his Saudi and Emirati counterparts to discuss political solutions to the ongoing crisis. Egypt announced this month that it would provide Saudi Arabia with military support to defend against Houthi attacks. This decision was made by the country’s highest security body and approved by lawmakers in a closed-door vote earlier this week.

An Associated Press reporter in Aden, Yemen, witnessed explosions that shattered windows at the airport building and nearby homes. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree urged everyone at the airport to evacuate after claiming a Saudi military cargo plane carrying weapons was present, though he provided no evidence for the assertion.