Three family members killed in Houthi shelling south of Hodeidah

Family in Al Tuhaiyta district of Yemen were eating lunch when a mortar shell fell on them

Houthi rebels shelled the populated city of Al Tuhaiyta on Saturday, which lies 100 kilometres south of the coastal city of Hodeidah. Reuters

A father and two of his children were killed and three family members severely injured after the Houthis shelled their home in the south of Hodeidah on Monday afternoon.

The family were having lunch in their home in the Al Mugailes area of Al Tuhaiyta district when a mortal shell fell on them.

“What happened today was a horrible crime by all measures,” said the medical source from Al Khokha public hospital.

“The Houthis pounded a residence that belongs to a citizen called Abdullah Habal, where he lives with his two wives and their children.”

Three of the family members suffered serious injuries and were transferred to hospitals in Aden after receiving first aid in Al Khokha, the official said.

A spokesman for the Amalikah Brigades told The National that the death toll would probably rise.

“It is likely that three people who were taken to hospitals in Aden will die later because they were seriously injured,” Abdullah Al Radfani said.

Elsewhere on Monday, dozens of civilians fled Houthi shelling in Al Hawak district in southern Hodeidah.

Residents in refugee camps in the coastal cities of Mocha and Al Khokha said that the Iran-backed rebels had destroyed more than five homes in intensified shelling on their village.

“The Houthis deliberately pounded our house with mortars," one resident said. "Fortunately, we were in the farm when the projectiles fell over the house, but the house was badly damaged.

"We weren't able to live in it any more so we had to leave to the displacement camp in Al Khokha."

On Saturday, Houthi militia shelled the city of Al Tuhaiyta, 100 kilometres south of of Hodeidah, killing three civilians including two children.