Yemen Monitor / Sana’a / Exclusive:
At least 151 Yemenis were killed and injured, with dozens still missing, following an Israeli occupation shelling of the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, on Thursday, according to Houthi health officials.
They stated that 8 people were killed and 145 were wounded in the Israeli attack on a number of residential areas in Sana’a, including “Al-Raqas neighborhood, Hadda neighborhood, Bab Al-Yaman, and Al-Siyasi neighborhood.”
A source in the Civil Defense in the capital, Sana’a, said that “dozens of people are still under the rubble, and capabilities are limited. As time passes, the chances of them being recovered safely from under the house wreckage dwindle.”
The Israeli occupation army said it had attacked camps and security headquarters belonging to the armed Houthi group. Hebrew media reported that the occupation dropped 70 bombs on Sana’a on Thursday using 16 fighter jets. Meanwhile, the Houthis and dozens of eyewitnesses stated that the targets were civilian, including a detention center for anti-Houthi detainees in Al-Siyasi neighborhood in Sana’a.
One raid destroyed a three-story building in Al-Raqas neighborhood in the center of the capital and near its main university, scattering rubble and smoke in the nearby streets.
Eyewitnesses said the attack occurred on a building next to Al-Raqas Market, a popular market “for qat and meat,” and primary schools, and that there was no Houthi headquarters or building in the neighborhood. This contradicts the Israeli occupation army’s claims that the attacks targeted Houthi “military sites.”
According to witnesses who spoke to “Yemen Monitor,” dozens of dead and injured fell in the attack on the building and the neighboring damaged buildings, including women and children.
The Israeli army issued a statement indicating that dozens of warplanes launched a “wide wave of airstrikes” against “Houthi military targets.” For his part, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the strikes were “powerful” and targeted “many military headquarters,” adding, “As I promised yesterday, those who harm us will be struck sevenfold.”
Hameed Al-Wasabi, an eyewitness about 100 feet from the explosion site, told the New York Times that “the building’s wreckage filled the area and ambulances rushed to it,” adding that many people were still trapped under the rubble. Violent explosions shook the city at a time when the group’s leader, Abdul Malik Al-Houthi, was giving a televised speech, but he did not address the Israeli raids.
Sources in Sana’a told “Yemen Monitor” that raids targeted a detention center for security and intelligence in Al-Siyasi neighborhood, resulting in casualties among political detainees. The Houthis claimed that Israel wanted to smuggle the detainees!
Sources said that raids targeted a building at Al-Iman University on Al-Sitteen Street, another security and intelligence building on Shamlan Street, the main headquarters building in Bab Al-Yaman, and a prison in Al-Siyasi neighborhood. Raids also targeted a building on Hadda Street, resulting in killed and wounded.
The sources also said that raids targeted a building near the Presidential Palace believed to be the Houthi “military media” building.
Medical sources in Sana’a told “Yemen Monitor” that the capacity of government hospitals is full and they are still treating the wounded from the attacks that occurred on Al-Tahrir neighborhood earlier this month.
Doctors Without Borders confirmed that government hospitals are struggling amidst the increase in the number of wounded arriving.
