Homes in Yemen's capital and along its Red Sea coast were among the targets of a series of airstrikes on Saturday, October 24, that reportedly killed at least 15 people, including women and children. Houthi-controlled authorities blamed the Saudi-led coalition for the attacks, which also struck a cement factory near Sanaa as fighting continued across several parts of the country.
The deadliest reported incidents occurred in Sanaa and the western governorate of Hodeidah, where local authorities described strikes on residential buildings and accommodation used by factory workers. The casualty figures remain provisional, and Saudi Arabia has not publicly confirmed responsibility for the individual strikes.
💢 Saudi airstrikes killed 21 people and wounded 30 across five Yemeni areas in 24 hours, according to figures from Yemen's Ansarallah-led government reported Saturday. Vast majority of the dead were women and children, all reported casualties were civilians. The dead include: 🔸 Sanaa: Omaima al-Shaabi, a girl, 10 years old; her brother Louay, 16; and their uncle Ali, 26, in their home. 🔸 Hamdan, Sanaa province: eight people in housing for cement factory workers' families: Alin Awad, 3; Ghaida al-Maqra'i, 6; Aisha al-Maqra'i, 30; Hanan al-Wasabi, 18; Zainab Murshid; Hanadi Awad; Nawal al-Ezzi; and Thabit al-Hakimi. Seven children aged 1 to 6 were wounded. 🔸 Taiz province: Nabiha Naji, 35, and three girls, Bayna, 10, Hafsa, 15, and Ola, 5, in their home in al-Misrakh. 🔸 Hodeidah: Abdulwahed al-Wasabi, his two wives and two of his children in al-Tuhayta. 🔸 Saada: a 25-year-old Ethiopian migrant at a shelter for African migrants. 🎥 Khaled Abdu Saeed Hassan, Hiba village, al-Misrakh, Taiz province, lost his wife and three daughters, Bayna, 10, Hafsa, 15, and Ola, 5, all school age. He holds their school books.
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) October 25, 2026
In Sanaa's Asr neighbourhood, an airstrike hit a residential house, killing three people and injuring three others, according to an initial statement from the Houthi-controlled Ministry of Health. Another attack struck a cement factory in Hamdan district, northwest of the capital, killing seven people, including a woman and a girl, and injuring eight.
A subsequent account from the Insan Organization for Rights and Freedoms placed the number killed in Asr at four. The organisation also reported casualties at accommodation associated with the Hamdan factory, although the available accounts have not established whether the factory itself, its workers' housing or both were struck.
Further west, in Hodeidah's Al-Tuhayta district, five members of one family were reported killed when an airstrike hit their home. The dead included Abdul-Wahid Al-Wasabi, his two wives and two children, while another daughter was injured, according to the local authority's statement.
The initial reports from Sanaa and Hodeidah account for at least 15 deaths. With the revised figure from Asr, the reported toll reaches 16. Neither total has been independently verified, and authorities have not released a complete, reconciled casualty list.
The strikes occurred during an intensified Saudi air campaign against the Houthis, whose forces have continued launching missiles and drones at Saudi airports, energy installations and military positions. Earlier this month, coalition aircraft struck a petroleum facility near Sanaa, prompting Houthi threats against Saudi oil infrastructure.
The consequences have extended well beyond military installations. Residential neighbourhoods, industrial facilities and transport routes have increasingly appeared in reports of airstrikes, while civilian casualties continue to be recorded across Houthi-controlled territory. On October 16, three children from the same family were reportedly killed in Dhamar, in another attack attributed by local authorities to Saudi aircraft.
Yemen's return to large-scale warfare has complicated efforts to revive negotiations. During his October 9 briefing to the UN Security Council, Special Envoy Hans Grundberg warned that fighting had spread across multiple fronts and called on all parties to distinguish civilian objects from military targets.
The Saudi-led coalition has not publicly explained the military objectives of Saturday's reported strikes on the homes and cement factory. Establishing what was targeted, the weapons used and the circumstances of the civilian deaths will require independent investigation.
For the families affected in Sanaa and Hodeidah, the immediate consequences are already evident in the reported deaths, injuries and destruction of their homes.
