Israel hits Yemen's capital with wave of strikes, killing at least six

Israel bombed several locations in Yemen's capital Sanaa on Sunday, killing at least ten people and injuring 90 others, according to the Houthi rebel group.

The Houthis had earlier said six were killed and 86 wounded in Sunday's strikes, which they said targeted a petrol station and a power plant in the rebel-held capital.

The Houthis' health ministry spokesman, Anees Alasbahi, said on X Monday that there were "ten dead and 92 wounded in the Zionist aggression".

AFP images showed a large fireball lighting up the skies over the rebel-held Yemeni capital, leaving behind a column of thick, black smoke.

The Houthis' health ministry reported "two martyrs and 35 wounded" in the Israeli raid.

A Houthi security source told AFP that the air raid targeted a municipal building in central Sanaa, while the group's Al-Masirah TV reported that the two dead were in a strike on an oil company facility in the city.

The channel said the targets also included a power station in Sanaa's south that was hit last Sunday.

The Israeli army said it had targeted Houthi military sites in Sanaa, including areas near the presidential palace, two power plants and a fuel storage facility.

"The strikes were conducted in response to repeated attacks by the Houthi terrorist regime against the State of Israel and its civilians," the military said in a statement.

Late Friday, the Houthis fired a missile that Israeli authorities said had "most likely fragmented in mid-air".

The Iran-backed group have intervened in Israel's war on Gaza on the side of Hamas, and have repeatedly fired missiles and drones at Israel.

Most of the attacks have been intercepted, but they have prompted retaliatory Israeli air strikes on rebel targets in Yemen.

On 17 August, Israel said it targeted an energy infrastructure site in Sanaa linked to the Houthis, with Al-Masirah reporting at the time the capital's Haziz power station was hit.

The latest Israeli statement said the Haziz facility was targeted again on Sunday.

A photographer working with AFP reported significant damage after the 17 August strike.

The Houthis have also targeted ships they say are linked to Israel in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden off Yemen.

The group broadened its campaign to target ships tied to the United States and Britain after the two countries began military strikes aimed at securing the waterway in January 2024.

In May, the rebels agreed a ceasefire with the United States that ended weeks of intense US strikes, but vowed to continue targeting Israeli ships.

Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said earlier this month that the Houthis would "pay with compound interest for every attempt to fire at Israel".

(AFP and TNA staff)