48-year old Jamila and four of her children were killed when an airstrike destroyed their home in al-Mujaliyya neighbourhood at 3.45am on 16 June. Jamila’s daughter Leila Hayel, who lives 600 metres away from her parents’ house, lost her mother and siblings Suha (10), Amal (14), Samah (23), and Hani (25). She told Amnesty International:
“The whole family had been staying in the Hawban neighbourhood [east side of
Ta’iz city] for the last two months because of the continuous fighting [between
armed groups] in al-Mujaliyya [south side of Ta’iz city]. In fact, the majority of the
residents have left the neighbourhood. They had only returned home one week
before the strike, in time for Ramadan. On that night, a bomb struck al-Arwa school,
located 30 metres away from our house. Fearing for their lives, my family rushed to
leave the house after the explosion. While my sisters and mother were putting on
their abayas and my brother Hani was locking up the house, a bomb struck the
house. The force of the explosion sent my sisters and mother flying five metres,
killing them instantly. Hani’s body was not dug out until 12 hours later. My father
Faisal (60) was the only survivor.”
On that night, three airstrikes targeted al-Mujaliyya neighbourhood for the first time, minutes apart. The first targeted al-Arwa School, which was reportedly being used as a detention centre by the Huthi/Saleh loyalists. The second struck the Hayel home and the third landed in the courtyard of the al-Ahdal family, where 13 relatives (10 women, three men) were sheltering in the basement of the house after hearing the first two strikes. The bomb at al￾Ahdal house, only a couple of doors down from the Hayel family, failed to detonate, limiting what could have been even greater destruction and likely more civilian casualties.

Excerpt from Amnesty International report.