Saudi-led coalition strikes hospital in north Yemen

Saudi-led coalition air strikes on Monday hit a hospital in a rebel-held province of northwestern Yemen, killing at least 11 people and wounding more than 19, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said in a statement.

MSF "confirms that Abs hospital [in Hajja province] was targeted by air strikes today at 15:45 Yemen time (1245 GMT)," the Paris-based relief agency tweeted. 

MSF spokeswoman Malak Shaher confirmed the incident and told AFP they have had a team at the public hospital in the coastal town since 2015.

Residents in Abs also confirmed that coalition jets, which have been striking Houthi targets in the town for days, hit the hospital and caused casualties.

At least six people died and 20 others were wounded, a health official said.

Ayman Mazkour, who heads the health sector in Hajja province, warned that the toll could rise.

"Medical teams have not yet been able to enter the hospital," he said in a statement carried by the rebel-affiliated website sabanews.net, adding that coalition warplanes were still flying over the area.

The strikes come less than 48 hours after MSF accused the coalition of killing 10 children in air strikes on a Quranic school in Saada province, the Houthi stronghold in Yemen's north.

The coalition denied targeting a school, instead saying it bombed a camp where rebels allegedly train underage soldiers.

The Arab coalition, led by Saudi Arabia, began its campaign of air strikes against the Houthis and their allies on 26 March 2015.

Abs is adjacent to the town of Harad, which is on the border with Saudi Arabia, and from where rebels have repeatedly shelled areas on the kingdom's side of the frontier, causing both civilian and military deaths.

Harad itself has seen fierce fighting and is frequently a target of heavy coalition air strikes.

Earlier on Monday, Saudi Arabia said it would allow aid flights back into the Yemeni capital after the city was bombed for the first time in three months. 

Human Rights Watch has condemned the Saudi-led coalition's campaign in Yemen after evidence emerged of the coalition indiscriminately targeting civilian economic infrastructure. 

In March, the UN accused the coalition of causing twice as many civilian casualties as other parties to the conflict and condemned the coalition for failing to prevent deadly incidents.

Saudi Arabia, however, has denied this, saying it had made efforts to avoid civilian targets.