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Ten killed and 92 injured in Israeli air strikes on Sanaa, Houthi rebels say

Army says military site and power plants were among the targets in Yemeni capital

Amr Mostafa
Amr Mostafa

August 24, 2025

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  • Arabic

At least 10 people were killed and 92 injured in Israeli air strikes on the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Sunday, the Houthi rebels' Health Ministry said.

The Israeli army said it struck military infrastructure of the Houthis in Sanaa, two days after the militants fired a missile towards Israel.

The army said that the targets included a military site in which the presidential palace is located, the Asar and Hizaz power plants, and a site for storing fuel.

“The strikes were conducted in response to repeated attacks by the Houthi terrorist regime against the State of Israel and its civilians, including the launching of surface-to-surface missiles and UAVs towards Israeli territory in recent days,” the army said.

The Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported “the Israeli aggression targeted with several strikes the oil company on 60th Street in the capital Sanaa and Hezyaz power station in southern Sanaa”.

A boy looks at smoke rising in the distance after Israeli air strikes in Sanaa, Yemen. EPA
A boy looks at smoke rising in the distance after Israeli air strikes in Sanaa, Yemen. EPA

Member of the Houthi political bureau Mohammed Al Frah described in a post on X the strikes as “desperate”, saying that Israel “targets civilian facilities that have no military connection, deliberately harming civilians, as it does in Gaza”.

The attacks are the first to hit the rebel-held Sanaa since August 17, when Israel said it attacked energy infrastructure it believed was used by the rebels.

On Friday, the Houthis said they had fired a ballistic missile towards Israel. An Israeli Air Force official said on Sunday the missile most likely carried several sub-munitions “intended to be detonated upon impact”.

“This is the first time that this kind of missile has been launched from Yemen,” the official said.

Since Israel's war in Gaza against the Palestinian militant group Hamas began in October 2023, the Iran-aligned Houthis have attacked vessels in the Red Sea in what they describe as acts of solidarity with the Palestinians.

They have also frequently fired missiles towards Israel, most of which have been intercepted. Israel has responded with strikes on Houthi-controlled areas, including the vital Hodeidah port.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Updated: August 25, 2025, 2:32 PM
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