Nine killed and scores injured in Israeli strikes on Yemen, say Houthi rebels

Yemen’s Houthi rebels said at least nine people were killed in Israeli strikes on the country’s rebel-held capital of Sanaa in the latest in an increase in exchanges between Israel and the Iranian-backed rebels over the war in Gaza.

The strikes on Thursday afternoon came a day after a drone launched by the Houthis wounded 22 people in the southern Israeli city of Eilat, a rare breach of Israel’s air defences.

According to the health ministry in the Houthi-controlled northern half of Yemen, which includes Sanaa, four children, two women and three older people were among the dead. Rebel officials also said 59 children, 35 women and 80 older people were among the wounded.

Medics were continuing to search for victims believed to be trapped under the rubble, the rebels said, indicating that the casualty tolls could rise.

The Israeli military said on Thursday that it had carried out strikes in Yemen, with dozens of aircraft targeting Houthi military command headquarters, military camps and security and intelligence facilities.

A Houthi spokesman, Omar el-Bekhety, said on Thursday that the Israeli strikes had targeted residential neighbourhoods and electricity facilities and claimed the Houthis’ defence systems had thwarted a “large part of the attack”.

“These crimes will not deter our people or break their will but will increase their steadfastness and resilience in confronting the Zionist crimes and continuing to support and back the honourable, oppressed, free people of Gaza,” he said.

According to Sanaa residents, one of the strikes hit a building in a densely populated area of the city, believed to have housed a Houthi leader. The Associated Press could not independently verify the claim.

Ahmed al-Mahweity said on Friday that the strikes had set off intense explosions that damaged several houses in the neighbourhood.

Selim Rageh, another resident, said several cars were also damaged.

Israel has launched previous airstrikes in response to the Houthis firing missiles and drones at Israel.

The Houthis have launched missiles and drones towards Israel and targeted ships in the Red Sea for more than 22 months, saying they were attacking in solidarity with Palestinians during the war in Gaza.