Sanaa, Yemen – On the evening of March 15th, Amma Mohammed* took a stroll through the vibrant streets of modern residential areas in northern Sanaa.
The tall, slim man was dressed and expected a delicious meal at his relative’s house.
The pleasant spring air cooled after the sunset carried the rich aroma of home cooking as the family prepared to break quickly on the last day of Ramadan.
Al Zeinis*, the two-storey home of his wife’s relatives, lit up like any other tightly packed house on that street.
Even from afar, he could see the rows of windows shining warmly, and he could feel the ham of life radiating from the locked room behind him as people chatted, children screamed and cutlery rattled.
He was looking forward to Iftar and enjoyed the after-rest gathering after his wife joined him at her relative’s house.
The streets were lively – mosque speakers repeated the Quran readings, children chasing each other barefoot on asphalt, spilling out of the rattle doorway of the bustling kitchen.
He was throwing stones as the evening fell apart.
The deafening roars were gently crushed, and a giddy flash of orange light turned everything into a horrifying, artificial dawn.
The ground twitched beneath him, he was thrown backwards, shockwaves of dust and debris being cleaned over him, ears pounding like they had stabbed his skin. For a while, he couldn’t breathe.
When he lifted his head, Al Zeini’s house was gone.
“That’s how the house collapsed into a smoldering rub and twisted metal pile,” the 30-year-old civil servant said.
“All of the 12 Alzainis who were inside on a peaceful night of Ramadan – mostly women and children were killed,” he said in pain.
The Al Zeini family had been killed in an attack ordered by President Donald Trump.
Trump insisted that he would target Hooty fighter jets and military facilities and force them to stop attacks on Israel-related ships in the Red Sea. This says Hausis is in response to the ongoing lockdown of Israel’s Gaza Strip.
The US raid continued, killing at least 53 people, while nearly 100 others were injured.
The neighborhood has shattered
Mohammed, the palm of his hand, bleeding from the unit he was thrown into the asphalt, ran home to see if there were any survivors.
The house had been demolished.
He joins a crowd of neighbors who find people to separate bricks and iron, eventually realizing that no one is alive.
“I was wiped out by emotions and thoughts like I was around me. I was confused, scared, thankful, worried, happy to survive, and devastated by what happened to this family.
“This was not a military base, but a family that broke fasting together. The Americans didn’t distinguish between rebels and children,” he told Al Jazeera.
He simply said he couldn’t say anything more about the murdered relative and was afraid of what would come next.
He vividly remembers how the sounds of joy of children playing were suddenly replaced by screams as their panicked parents ran into the street, desperately searching for their little ones.
“They were there exactly a minute ago.”
Like a Kaura*, who had been homes from Alzeinis, he set up tables and kept an eye on his two sons, Usama, 8, and Mustafa, 6, who was sought after.
They waited for their father’s return before the family could sit down to break their fast.
The ground shaking and the explosive sound of the attack caused the 30-year-old mother, panicked, ran outside to search for traces of her small things.
“My kids were there a while ago, and all of a sudden I couldn’t see them,” she said.
“I shifted the debris that was scattered across the street and the air was still full of dust. I was terrified.
“I cried out their names…nothing,” she said.
“I discovered two small bodies my neighbor had threw a few meters away by the power of the blast,” said Cowra, who asked to introduce her alone.
The neighbors scooped them into his arms and carried them to Kaura’s house, and felt safer inside, fearing another attack might continue.
“I followed him, sobbing and trying to understand how badly the boys were injured. They weren’t too shocked, but as I stepped inside, I desperately looked every inch of their bodies.”
Luckily, the boy’s injuries were limited to bruises and whole body cuts, allowing her to daddy herself.
“These are easy to heal, but the scars are too deep and much more difficult to fix. My kids have not been themselves since.”
The boys continue to ask if more bombs will fall into the neighborhood, she added.
“I’ll hold them and don’t answer the questions…but I can’t get over the vision of a family where the kids didn’t make it.”
*Name changed for personal safety
This article was published in collaboration with EGAB.