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Taiz and Lahj governorates in southern Yemen witnessed, on Monday, attacks which government authorities said were carried out by the Houthi group, targeting a health center, a popular market, and residential areas.
According to government authorities, these attacks resulted in the killing of 19 civilians and wounding of 42 others, including children and healthcare workers.
Yemen's Ministry of Health announced on Monday, in a statement, the death of five people and injury of 15 others, including medical staff, following the Houthi group's targeting of Al-Suqia Health Center in Al-Mudharibah wa Al-Arah district in Lahj governorate.
The ministry clarified that among the dead were three center employees, while seven medical staff members were among the injured.
It added that "this targeting constitutes a violation of humanitarian and international laws and conventions that guarantee the protection of health facilities, their workers, and patients."
For his part, Yemeni Prime Minister Maeedh Al-Zindani said that "the terrorist Houthi militia's targeting of Al-Suqia Health Center represents a complete act of terrorism and a blatant violation of international humanitarian law."
He indicated that the incident "reveals the criminal nature of the Houthi militia, which systematically targets civilian facilities and medical installations, in a direct assault on citizens' right to life and treatment."
He continued that "targeting a health facility performing a humanitarian role in saving lives is a crime against society as a whole, and an attempt to strip citizens of their right to life, safety, and healthcare."
He noted that "silence over these crimes or treating them as passing incidents encourages perpetrators to escalate, and undermines the foundations of civilian protection mandated by international law."
In Taiz governorate, 14 civilians, mostly children, were killed and 25 others injured on Monday when a ballistic missile fell in Al-Najd market in Al-Makhaif village, south of the governorate, after a failed launch attempt by the Houthi group, according to the official Yemeni news agency "Saba".
The agency cited unnamed local sources stating that the missile fell in the market moments after its launch.
It added that "the militia is attempting to conceal the incident and preventing residents from approaching the impact site or providing medical aid to the injured."
In another incident, two children were injured on Monday by gunfire from a Houthi sniper in Al-Maqdi village, in Al-Aqrud sub-district of Al-Misrakh district, south of Taiz.
Taiz's Local Authority Office for Siege Affairs reported in a statement that "the sniper stationed at Dhaheeh hill targeted Majed Badr Haza (2 years old), who was hit by two bullets in his right thigh, and Abdu Rashid Qasim (10 years old), who was shot in his right leg."
In a related development, the same office announced in another statement that 13 homes in Adoud village, in Sabr Al-Mathlam district south of Taiz governorate, sustained damage and partial destruction due to a Houthi ballistic missile attack on Sunday.
The office said in its statement, published on its Facebook page, that the village is located about 13 kilometers from the frontlines, considering its targeting as part of attacks affecting villages and residential neighborhoods.
The Houthi group has not commented on the reports issued by Yemeni government authorities.
These incidents come amid a military escalation in multiple fronts in Taiz and Lahj governorates, amid ongoing government accusations against the Houthi group for targeting civilians, civilian infrastructure, and medical facilities.
Yemen has been experiencing war since the Houthi group seized control of the capital Sanaa and other governorates in September 2014, followed by the intervention of a Saudi-led military coalition in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government.
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