Saudi airstrike kills 9 in Yemen's Saada, Houthi media report

An alleged Saudi airstrike on a home in Saada governorate, northern Yemen, has killed at least nine people and wounded 16 others, Houthi media reported via AFP, as fighting in Yemen’s revived civil war escalates. The report was carried on Dawn’s live blog on 18 October 2026.

The Houthis’ Saba news agency said the strike “led to the martyrdom of nine and the injury of 16 others, most of them women and children”, adding that the toll was not final. The strike remains alleged — the account comes from the Houthi side alone.

Casualty figures from Yemen’s conflict zones are routinely difficult to verify independently, and Saba’s toll should be treated as reported but unverified, never as an independently confirmed figure.

In the same news cycle, Yemen’s internationally recognised government has written to the UN Secretary-General and the UN Security Council president, Greek diplomat Aglaya Balta, calling for condemnation of Houthi attacks on government facilities, residential neighbourhoods and civilian infrastructure, per Al Jazeera via Dawn’s live blog.

The revival of Yemen’s civil war has escalated in recent weeks. Houthi attacks on Saudi targets have included a raid on Riyadh airport last week that killed 13 people, according to the Wall Street Journal via Al Jazeera and Dawn’s live blog. Separately, Egypt’s parliament postponed to Monday a vote on military support for Saudi Arabia, Dawn reported, quoting two lawmakers cited by AFP.

Sources

• Dawn live updates (AFP) — https://www.dawn.com/live/iran-israel-war
• Al Jazeera (via Dawn live blog) — https://www.dawn.com/live/iran-israel-war
• Wall Street Journal (via Al Jazeera/Dawn live blog) — https://www.dawn.com/live/iran-israel-war