Death toll from Houthi missile attack in Yemen’s Hodeidah rises to 3: Yemeni forces

Mohammed Sameai and Serdar Dincel

Yemen’s government-aligned National Resistance Forces (NRF) said Tuesday that the death toll from a Houthi ballistic missile attack on the Al-Khawkhah district in the southern Hodeidah province had risen to three.

The announcement came in a brief statement carried by Yemen’s NRF-linked “2 December” news agency.

According to the statement, the Houthi attack, which reportedly involved two ballistic missiles, killed three civilians, including a child.

Earlier Tuesday, the NRF also said two farmers had been killed in the missile attack.

Yemen’s Ansar Allah group, also known as the Houthis, has yet to comment on the NRF’s claims.

In 2014, the Iran-backed Houthis overran much of the country, including Yemen’s capital, Sanaa.

This was followed by several years of war between the Houthis and Yemeni government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition.

Since the eruption of the Israel-Gaza conflict in 2023, ​​​​​​​the Houthis have become increasingly involved in regional hostilities, carrying out missile attacks on Israel and Israel-linked commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

The latest uptick in fighting – coupled with the ongoing conflict between Iran and the United States – has revived fears of a return to full-scale conflict in the impoverished Gulf nation.