Fear and uncertainty for civilians as Yemen’s capital comes under attack

Sanaa, Yemen – At midnight connected Tuesday, aerial strikes rattled the Yemeni superior Sanaa, a metropolis that has been mostly spared bombing since a truce was announced betwixt the internationally recognised authorities and the Houthis successful 2023.

The caput of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, Rashid al-Alimi, had precocious announced a caller subject violative was being launched, named Operation Dawn of Yemen, to instrumentality Sanaa from the Houthis, who person held the metropolis since September 2014.

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Government crushed forces stay hundreds of miles distant from the superior and embroiled successful warring with the Houthis connected Yemen’s westbound seashore and astir Taiz.

This means attacks connected Houthi positions successful Sanaa indispensable travel from the air, but the aerial run has caused civilian casualties.

An aerial onslaught connected Monday deed a determination successful the Sa’wan country of Sanaa governorate, sidesplitting a kid and wounding 7 different civilians.

The Yemeni authorities has pledged to proceed its attacks until it achieves its objectives, notably the recapture of Sanaa. Regardless of the governmental opinions of Yemenis successful the capital, astir fearfulness their city, acold from the beforehand lines, volition go a warfare portion erstwhile again.

Decisive Storm

Strong memories stay of the Saudi-led coalition’s Operation Decisive Storm, launched against the Houthis successful March 2015, which saw hundreds of civilians successful Sanaa killed successful aerial strikes.

Since the commencement of the caller Yemeni authorities offensive, dozens of strikes person deed the capital, including an onslaught connected Sanaa’s planetary airport, which killed 2 workers. Both operations were aimed astatine Houthi sites.

Ghamadan Abood, a 30-year-old courier and Sanaa resident, said the caller question of attacks connected the metropolis has heightened fearfulness among residents.

“When I learned astir the caller cognition connected Sunday, my feeling of information shrank,” helium told Al Jazeera. “At immoderate clip and anywhere, aerial strikes whitethorn hit, and civilians could go the adjacent casualties.”

A antheral reads a publication arsenic helium browses a stall connected a thoroughfare successful Sanaa, Yemen, October 8, 2026 [Mohammed al-Mahdi/Reuters]

On Monday, Abood was travelling connected his motorcycle erstwhile aerial strikes deed Sa’wan, conscionable 2 kilometres from wherever helium was. With Houthi subject facilities believed to beryllium positioned successful the city, and the authorities sometimes hitting residential areas, the bombing highlights the vulnerability of civilians successful Sanaa.

“The strikes could beryllium aimed astatine rocket motorboat pads, subject instrumentality oregon facilities, but immoderate of these facilities could beryllium adjacent neighbourhoods, farms oregon roads. So, guiltless radical could beryllium killed, injured oregon near terrified,” Abood said.

Saudi Arabia, which supports the Yemeni government, has besides travel nether repeated rocket attacks by the Houthis, including 2 strikes connected King Khalid International Airport successful Riyadh, the latest connected Saturday sidesplitting 12 people.

On Tuesday, the Saudi-led conjugation said Sanaa, Saada, and Amran were among the superior sources of Houthi rocket threats. The conjugation has noted that ongoing subject operations are aimed astatine curbing the group’s quality to motorboat missiles connected the kingdom.

Fear of displacement

More than 200,000 radical person been displaced since warring successful Yemen escalated successful caller weeks, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Most of those forced to permission their homes person travel from Taiz governorate successful southwestern Yemen, wherever the astir aggravated crushed warring betwixt authorities and Houthi forces has taken place.

Saleh Ayidh, a 50-year-old nonmigratory of Sanaa and begetter of five, fears the caller aerial strikes volition besides unit radical from their homes successful the north.

“Today, we spot Sanaa arsenic a harmless spot and distant from the beforehand lines. For me, nary spot is harmless successful Yemen, peculiarly successful the north, and warfare tin dispersed anywhere,” helium told Al Jazeera.

At the commencement of the Saudi-led coalition’s cognition against the Houthis successful March 2015, Ayidh’s household near the metropolis for a location successful the countryside. They lived determination for six months, acold from the battle connected the Yemeni capital.

“Now we bash not cognize what volition hap to us. We volition determine whether we request to permission the metropolis if the aerial strikes support intensifying,” Ayidh said. “Without safety, beingness is hard.”

Houthi fighters thrust successful a pickup motortruck during a ceremonial procession for chap fighters killed successful caller warring successful Sanaa, Yemen, September 24, 2026. [Yahya Arhab/EPA]

Stocking up

The caller aerial strikes are wide viewed successful Sanaa arsenic a motion that warfare has returned to the capital, prompting residents to banal up connected nutrient and fuel.

When Operation Decisive Storm began successful 2015, the outgo of goods and substance roseate owed to disruption to logistics and panic buying. The aforesaid inclination is being seen again successful Sanaa aft the caller resumption of hostilities.

Grocery proprietor Nashwan, 24, has boosted his inventory of essentials specified arsenic rice, cheese, milk, biscuits, cooking lipid and sugar, earlier they go excessively hard to find.

He besides stocked up connected petrol, buying 100 litres to usage for his minibus if a substance situation hits the capital.

“These commodities whitethorn go costly successful the coming days. If the warfare keeps escalating, buying them would outgo maine more,” Nashwan said. “I bash not privation to consciousness the interaction of the warfare immediately.”

Any roadworthy closures oregon a diminution successful imports caused by the warfare and a Saudi naval siege connected Houthi areas volition contiguous large challenges for civilians.

“Rising prices of nutrient and substance are a existent interest for the full colonisation amid the warfare and volition worsen the humanitarian concern successful Yemen,” Wafiq Saleh, enforcement manager of the Taiz Centre for Yemeni-Gulf Studies, told Al Jazeera.

Last week, the UN World Food Programme warned that three-quarters of families successful parts of Yemen were going hungry.

There are fears an escalation of the warring volition pb to a much aggravated nutrient situation crossed Yemen, which the WFP has already described arsenic “absolutely devastating”.

A antheral surveys harm astatine a mill deed by an airstrike successful Sanaa, Yemen, October 4, 2026 [Stringer/Reuters]

Yemen fighting

Despite the optimism of the internationally recognised authorities erstwhile announcing Operation Dawn of Yemen, fewer successful Sanaa judge it has the quality to recapture the superior from the Houthis immoderate clip soon.

Raiman al-Hamdani, a London-based Yemen analyst, said authorities forces are large connected paper, but stay scattered crossed aggregate fronts, portion soldiers are utilizing outdated gear.

“They tin clasp their lines but can’t propulsion the Houthis retired of their upland strongholds,” Raiman told Al Jazeera past week.

Fuad Ali, 40, a assemblage postgraduate successful Sanaa, said the Saudi-backed authorities has mislaid the public’s trust, peculiarly its assertion that it could seizure the superior aft it suffered a bid of embarrassing military defeats successful caller weeks connected the coast.

“The authorities has failed to prehend the coastal Hodeidah state oregon Al-Jawf godforsaken province. The combat determination could beryllium easier fixed the topography. How tin it recapture the mountainous Sanaa?” Ali told Al Jazeera.

Operation Dawn of Yemen volition bring much “destruction to the country’s facilities and summation civilian casualties”, helium added.

Ali doubts the cognition volition instrumentality the authorities to Sanaa. But helium besides believes the authorities and Saudi-led conjugation person learned their lessons from 2015, erstwhile immense civilian casualties from aerial raids drew planetary condemnation.

“I americium inactive optimistic that Operation Dawn of Yemen volition not damage Sanaa arsenic Operation Decisive Storm did,” Ali said.