Houthis say Saudi-led airstrikes killed 14 at a market in northern Yemen, and other Mideast news

Iran-backed Houthi rebels say Saudi-led airstrikes have killed 14 people in a busy market in northern Yemen.

Yemeni officials, meanwhile, appealed for international support to protect civilians in Taiz as the Houthis tightened their siege of the city.

Separately, a police officer guarding the Israeli Embassy in the Serbian capital of Belgrade shot and killed a man who attacked him with a knife. Police called the incident a “terrorist attack.”

Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Wednesday. Read our full coverage here.

Houthis say Saudi-led airstrikes kill 14

Saudi-led airstrikes hit a crowded market in northern Yemen on Wednesday, killing 14 people, including three children and two women, and wounding 15 others, a Houthi health official said.

The strikes hit a central market near a gas station in al-Hazm, the capital of al-Jawf province, around midday while it was packed with shoppers, said Anees al-Asbahi, spokesperson for the Houthi-run Health Ministry, in a post on X.

Also on Wednesday, the Ministry of Transportation of the internationally-recognized government said that the Houthis had launched two airstrikes with ballistic missiles on Aden airport, according to a statement on the ministry’s website. The statement called the attacks “a direct threat to the lives of passengers, aviation crews and workers.”

A video released by the ministry and circulated by local media showed two craters caused by explosions in the airport runway.

Earlier, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, the Houthis’ military spokesperson, had urged civilians to evacuate the airport, claiming a Saudi military cargo plane carrying weapons was there. Yet, he did not provide any evidence.

Aden’s airport was deserted after the Houthi warning, airport employee Salem Al-Awlaqi told The Associated Press. A security official who spoke on condition of anonymity said no staff or security personnel remained. Flights from Cairo and Mumbai bound for Aden were diverted to Seiyun Airport in Yemen’s Hadramawt province, and a flight to Cairo was canceled, the official said.

Airstrikes reported on Houthi-controlled island at the entrance of Bab al-Mandeb strait

Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV channel reported airstrikes on Mayun Island, also known as Perim Island, at the entrance of Bab al-Mandeb strait, a key waterway where 12% of the world's cargo once passed through.

The Bab al-Mandeb was a key alternative for shipping Saudi oil and other exports since Iran has been targeting vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, until the Iranian-backed Houthis took control of the island in September. It blamed the Saudi-led coalition for the strikes. The coalition has not commented on the strikes.

Yemen appeals for help as Houthis tighten Taiz siege

Yemeni government officials urged the international community to help protect civilians and reopen roads into the city of Taiz as Iran-backed Houthi rebels tightened their siege of the city.

Taiz province has emerged as a major battlefront in recent weeks, including the city of Taiz — considered a gateway to the country's south. It has taken in around half of Yemen’s population displaced by fighting, straining limited resources.

The Taiz governor, Nabil Shamsan, said residents had lost access to about 3 million liters (about 793,000 gallons) of water previously available from wells in Wadi al-Dhubab, which he said is now under Houthi control. The AP couldn’t independently verify that claim.

Eshraq al-Maqtari, a legal affairs minister in Yemen’s internationally recognized government, said more than 2,000 projectiles and explosives fired by the Houthis struck Taiz city districts in recent days and called for measures to cut off the rebels' weapon supplies and funding.

Shamsan said fighting had intensified across the province as the Houthis deployed reinforcements to multiple fronts, with the city encircled on all four sides.

Israeli strikes kill at least 4 and wound more than 20 in southern Gaza

Health officials at Nasser Hospital said a midafternoon strike hit near a Red Cross field hospital in Rafah on Wednesday, killing three people and injuring 15 more, including five seriously. A strike earlier in the day killed one man and critically wounded a woman. Another strike wounded at least five more people.

Israel’s military did not respond to a request for comment.

More than 1,550 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by the Israeli military since the ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas began in October 2025, according to the territory’s health ministry. The ministry maintains records and is regarded as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts.