Seven people were killed in an air strike in Taiz and military operations escalated in Yemen

Seven people were killed and 40 others were injured in a Saudi air strike that targeted a market in the center of the city of Taiz, southwestern Yemen, according to what media outlets affiliated with the Ansar Allah group (Houthis) reported on Sunday.

The Houthi-run Al Masirah TV said, "A Saudi fighter carried out the raid," without any immediate comment from the Saudi side regarding the attack or the death toll.

The raid comes amid escalation of fighting between the Houthis and forces affiliated with the internationally recognized Yemeni government, after a period of relative calm.

On the other hand, the internationally recognized Yemeni government stated that its forces targeted a Houthi camp and military vehicles in the same area.

The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Information in the Yemeni government, Fayyad al-Numan, stated that the Air Force of the Armed Forces carried out violent air strikes on Sunday targeting “the newly developed reception camp of the terrorist Houthi militia in the Al-Hawban area, east of the city of Taiz, and the bombing resulted in heavy losses among the militia’s ranks.”

He said in a post on the X platform: “The recent air strikes by the Armed Forces Air Force targeted a number of leaders affiliated with the terrorist Houthi militia in the Al-Hawban area in Taiz Governorate, in addition to weapons and ballistic missile stores and a number of military vehicles. Among the targeted leaders is the so-called Nour al-Din al-Marani, who is impersonating the Taiz Governorate’s Undersecretary for Defense and Security Affairs.”

The Yemeni government announced on Sunday that it had targeted Houthi gatherings and sites in the Lahj and Al-Dhalea governorates as well, using drones and warplanes.

The Giants forces said that they bombed Houthi gatherings and vehicles on the Kahboub front in Lahj Governorate, while the Homeland Shield Forces announced the targeting of Houthi gatherings in Al-Dhalea.

Three military sources in the Yemeni government told Reuters that Houthi militants recently established a military camp near the market.

The Houthi spokesman, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, announced that a Saudi Arabian armed reconnaissance plane, a "Carial", was shot down on Sunday while it was carrying out "hostile actions" in the airspace of the Al-Tineh area in Hajjah Governorate, northwest of Yemen.

Brigadier General Saree added in a statement that the plane was shot down using an “appropriate weapon,” without the statement providing additional details regarding the nature of the weapon used or the timing of the downing of the plane.

The Yemeni Saba Agency, affiliated with the Houthis, said that on Sunday, Saudi aircraft carried out four raids on the governorates of Dhamar and Al-Bayda.

Local sources explained to the agency that Saudi aircraft targeted, with two raids, a tower and a communications building in Mount Ravan in the village of Thamar in the Ans District of Dhamar Governorate, causing material damage, as well as two raids on the Numan District in Al Bayda Governorate.

The recognized Yemeni government had warned against "the Houthi militia's use of Iranian air defense weapons that have been modified with technologies that enable them to fly for long periods."

Muammar Al-Eryani, Minister of Information in the Yemeni government, said in a post on the

He pointed out that the danger of this development lies in the Houthis’ deployment and use of these weapons from areas under their control, including Hodeidah, towards international air routes. This poses a serious threat to civilian aircraft and passengers, as well as United Nations, humanitarian and relief flights.

Al-Eryani added that the Government of Yemen, by informing the international community of this information, calls on the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), civil aviation safety authorities, and international airlines to deal with this threat with the utmost seriousness.