Saudi‑led coalition forces blasted the Houthi‑controlled Sanaa international airport and the Harf Sufyan district in Amran on Sunday, dropping seven bombs that left 12 civilians dead, including four Saudi nationals, a Bangladeshi, and one each from the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine, and Sudan—according to Major General Turki Al‑Maliki, spokesperson for the Joint Forces Command.
Houthi‑aligned media blasted the attack as a war crime, citing the October 10 strike on a Riyadh airport terminal that the coalition had condemned earlier. Yet the Houthis themselves never claimed responsibility for the latest blasts, only for the earlier Riyadh attack.
Al‑Maliki said the coalition would respond "firmly in accordance with international humanitarian law," a phrase that echoed the earlier vow to treat "airport for airport, siege for siege, escalation for escalation." The warning comes as the Houthis have warned airlines and shipping companies to avoid Saudi airspace, except for Mecca and Medina.
The Houthi‑run health ministry reported six civilians— a woman and a child among them—injured in a Saudi strike on a house in Bab Sha’ab, Sanaa. The injuries add to the mounting toll of the conflict, with the coalition citing civilian casualties as a key motive for its continued campaign.
The next day, the coalition’s Joint Forces Command is expected to convene a briefing on the operational impact of the strikes, while the Houthis are likely to issue a counter‑statement demanding an end to the air campaign. International observers will watch closely for any shift toward renewed diplomatic engagement.