At least 20 civilians killed or injured in missile strike on health centre in Yemen's Lahj province, state media reports
At least 20 civilians were killed or injured when a missile struck the Al-Suqya health centre in Yemen's Lahj province on Monday, according to state-run media, in an attack Yemen's prime minister condemned as a terrorist crime.
At least 20 civilians were killed or injured in a missile strike on a health centre in Yemen's southwestern Lahj province on Monday, according to state-run media cited by TRT World and Anadolu Agency. The reports said the strike targeted the Al-Suqya health centre in the Al-Mudaribah and Al-Arah districts of Lahj province.
State-run Saba satellite channel reported the attack but did not provide a breakdown of how many people were killed and how many were injured, nor did it give further details about the condition of the building or the people inside it at the time. That lack of detail means the figure of 20 should be read as a combined total of dead and wounded, not as a confirmed death toll.
Yemen's internationally recognised government accused the Houthis of launching the attack. Prime Minister Shaya Mohsen al-Zindani said in a post on X that the strike had targeted the al-Saqqiya Health Centre and had killed and wounded several medical workers, and he condemned it as a terrorist crime and a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.
Al Jazeera's live coverage of the day's events reported the prime minister's accusation and his condemnation, and noted that there was no immediate comment from the Houthis. The absence of a Houthi response means the attribution of the strike rests, for now, on the Yemeni government's account and on state media reporting rather than on an admission or denial by the group accused.
Lahj province borders Yemen's temporary capital, Aden, to the north and west, and it is a strategically important area connecting Aden with other provinces. A health centre in such an area serves not only its immediate neighbourhood but also people travelling to and from the port city, which makes any disruption to its services a wider problem than a single building.
The strike came during a period of intense fighting in southern Yemen. Government forces said on Monday that they had seized several areas from the Houthis after fierce fighting in Taiz province, including Nuba, Watheeb and Tabbat Mubarak along the al-Aqroud front, and said dozens of Houthi fighters had been killed or wounded in that battle.
Government forces began an operation called Dawn of Yemen on 5 October, according to local reporting, and fighting has since continued across Lahj, Taiz and other southern governorates. The health centre strike therefore took place not as an isolated incident but in the middle of an ongoing military campaign in which both sides have reported casualties and territorial claims.
The wider Yemen conflict has also become entangled with the war between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis. The Saudi-led coalition has carried out air strikes on Houthi-held areas, including the Red Sea port of Ras Isa and facilities in Hodeidah province, while the Houthis have launched missiles and drones towards Saudi targets, including airports and oil facilities.
Attacks on health facilities carry a particular weight under international humanitarian law, which protects medical units and personnel in armed conflict. The prime minister's reference to that law reflects the Yemeni government's argument that a strike on a health centre is not only a military act but a violation of the rules meant to protect civilians and medical care during war.
For the people of the Al-Mudaribah and Al-Arah districts, the immediate consequence is the loss or disruption of a local medical service. Health centres in rural and front-line areas are often the first, and sometimes the only, point of care for families, and damage to such a facility can leave residents without treatment even if the building itself is only partly damaged.
What happens next will depend on verification and response. Further reporting may clarify how many people were killed, how many were injured and how badly the centre was damaged, and whether the Houthis respond to the accusation. Until then, the confirmed facts are the state media report of at least 20 civilians killed or injured, the prime minister's condemnation, and the absence of an immediate Houthi comment.
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