Houthi ballistic missile targeting eastern Saudi Arabia intercepted: Coalition - The Express Tribune
WHO reports 559 casualties from Oct. 20 to 25 as fighting continues across several governorates
Nearly 1,700 people have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in Yemen since August amid a military escalation, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday.
In a report, the agency recorded 1,677 deaths and 7,395 injuries during the period, including 559 casualties between Oct. 20 and 25 alone, averaging about 93 casualties a day.
Fighting continued during the reporting period in the governorates of Taiz, Lahj, and Marib, while lower casualty figures were recorded in Aden, Al-Dhalea, and Shabwa, according to the report.
The WHO said it delivered 56 trauma and emergency kits to the city of Taiz on Oct. 24, including 46 kits for trauma care and 10 for emergency health services.
The delivery also included around 30 metric tons of medical supplies for three hospitals and one health center.
The agency warned that only six of 31 mobile medical teams remained operational in Marib, leaving residents struggling to access health services amid damage to health facilities and shortages of supplies.
Al-Thawra General Hospital in Taiz city came under fire on Oct. 20, leaving three soldiers and one patient injured, according to the WHO.
The agency warned that continued disruption to essential services and shortages of medicines, fuel, and water, along with inadequate waste management, were increasing the risk of infectious disease outbreaks, particularly in Taiz.
Earlier in the day, clashes had resumed between Yemeni government forces and the Houthi group on several fronts south of Taiz, Yemen Today TV reported on Thursday.
The channel said fighting had resumed on the Al-Aqroudh and Al-Masrakh fronts, as well as in Al-Rahn village in the Sabir al-Mawadim district.
In a related development, Aden International Airport resumed flights.
The airport and nearby areas were targeted by missile attacks following Houthi threats to strike the facility.
On Wednesday, a missile landed at Al-Nasr Camp, adjacent to the airport, where Yemeni Coast Guard forces and Interior Ministry headquarters are located, eyewitnesses told Anadolu.
Saudi air defences intercepted a ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi group toward the kingdom’s Eastern Province early on Thursday, the Saudi-led coalition said.
Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki announced the interception on the US social media platform X, without providing further details or reporting casualties or damage.
التحالف: الدفاع الجوي اعترض ودمر صاروخ باليستي أطلقته الميليشيا الحوثية الإرهابية باتجاه المنطقة الشرقية. pic.twitter.com/1vui0ifNMa
Before the interception was announced, Saudi Civil Defence issued an early warning alert in the Eastern Province over an unspecified threat. It subsequently announced the all-clear for the Eastern Province and Najran.
On Wednesday, the coalition said it intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile fired toward the western Saudi city of Taif.
Late Tuesday, debris from two intercepted Houthi ballistic missiles damaged a building, a construction project and a vehicle in the capital Riyadh, according to Civil Defence. Its statement did not report any casualties.
The interceptions came amid escalating hostilities between the Houthi group and the Saudi-led coalition, which supports Yemen’s internationally recognised government.
Taiz, Yemen’s most populous province, remains divided between government forces and the Houthis. Government forces control Taiz city, the provincial capital, and other parts of the province.
Since July, military escalation between Yemeni government forces and the Houthis has resumed, particularly in Taiz and Lahj, killing and injuring thousands, according to UN reports.
Yemen has been at war since the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and several provinces in September 2014. A Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened in March 2015 in support of Yemen’s internationally recognized government.
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