In an attack on a civilian infrastructure, Saudi warplanes bombed the busy al-Hadhara market in the al-Wazi’iyah district of southern Yemen on Friday. The strike occurred during peak trading hours, when the popular bazaar was filled with shoppers and merchants, according to a report by the Almaydeen news network.

Medical sources reported an initial tally of at least 40 wounded, but emergency responders and health authorities have warned that the number of fatalities could climb significantly, as many of the injured remain in critical condition.

Yemen’s armed forces  confirmed the attack. In a statement released on Telegram on Friday afternoon, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, the spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces, detailed the assault. He stated that an F-15SA fighter jet belonging to the Royal Saudi Air Force  took off from King Khalid Air Base, near Khamis Mushait in southwestern Saudi Arabia, earlier that morning. The aircraft subsequently executed three separate airstrikes directly on the market, causing dozens of casualties.

“The aircraft violated Yemeni airspace over Ta’izz province, carried out its strikes, and then returned to its base,” General Saree said.

Condemning the attack, Saree vowed that the perpetrators would face consequences. “These brutal crimes will not go unanswered or unpunished,” he warned.