Houthi missiles kill five at Aden presidential palace

Five people died and sixteen were wounded when Houthi forces fired five ballistic missiles at al-Maashiq Palace in Aden on Friday, striking the seat of Yemen's internationally recognised government.

Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani confirmed to the BBC that Prime Minister Shaya Zindani and other cabinet members survived the strike. The Houthis' military spokesman Yahya Sarea described the target as "the Saudi enemy's military operations headquarters in Aden." Health Minister Qasim Buhaibeh said the dead included palace guards and civilian staff.

The newsroom filed on a separate Houthi missile strike against Saudi Arabia earlier this week. This attack is distinct: it targeted the Yemeni government's own administrative seat in the south, and the confirmed death toll makes it the most lethal single strike on Aden in the current phase of the conflict.

Saudi Arabia's deputy foreign minister Rayed Krimly said Iran was actively encouraging the escalation, citing violations of UN Security Council resolutions on arms transfers to the Houthis. Iran has not responded.