14 dead in Yemen market after Saudi-led strikes

Saudi-led airstrikes hit a crowded market in northern Yemen on Wednesday, killing 14 people. The Houthi-run Health Ministry reported that 15 others were wounded in the attack. Three women were among the injured.

The strikes targeted a market near a gas station in al-Hazm, the capital of al-Jawf province. Officials said the area was packed with shoppers when the bombs fell. Shops and nearby houses suffered heavy damage.

The ministry called the attack a war crime. It demanded an international investigation. The Saudi-backed Yemeni government did not issue an immediate statement.

In the southern city of Aden, explosions shattered windows at the airport building and nearby homes. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree urged everyone at the airport to evacuate. He claimed a Saudi military cargo plane carrying weapons was present, though he provided no evidence.

Airport employee Salem Al-Awlaqi told The Associated Press that the airport was completely deserted after the warning. A security official said no staff or security personnel remained. Flights from Cairo and Mumbai were diverted to Seiyun Airport in Hadramawt province. A flight to Cairo was canceled.

Yemeni government officials appealed for international support to protect civilians in Taiz. They asked for roads into the city to be reopened as the Houthis tightened their siege. Taiz province has become a major battlefront in recent weeks.

Taiz is considered a gateway to the country’s south. It has taken in around half of Yemen’s population displaced by fighting. This strain has put pressure on limited resources. Governor Nabil Shamsan said residents lost access to about 3 million liters of water from wells in Wadi al-Dhubab. He said the area is now under Houthi control.

Eshraq al-Maqtari, a legal affairs minister, said more than 2,000 projectiles struck Taiz city districts in recent days. She called for measures to cut off the rebels’ weapon supplies and funding. Shamsan said the city is now encircled on all four sides.

In southern Gaza, health officials at Nasser Hospital said a strike hit near a Red Cross field hospital in Rafah. The attack killed three people and injured 15 more. Five of the injured were seriously hurt. An earlier strike that day killed one man and critically wounded a woman.

More than 1,550 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by the Israeli military since the ceasefire with Hamas began in October 2025. The territory’s health ministry maintains these records. U.N. agencies and independent experts regard the ministry as generally reliable.

In Belgrade, Serbia, a police officer guarding the Israeli Embassy shot and killed a man who attacked him with a knife. The incident occurred just after midnight on Wednesday. The officer was slightly wounded in the face.

Serbia’s Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said police were treating the incident as a terrorist attack. He raised the terror threat to the highest level. Police presence at key locations was increased. Dacic described the attacker as a minor who had two knives. He shouted Allahu Akbar during the attack.