The Saudi coalition bombed a vegetable market near Hodeidah earlier today and killed at least 21 people:

Death toll rises to 21 people and 10 others wounded in a masscare committed today by Saudi airstrikes on a local market in al-Masoudi area of Bait al-Faqieh district in #Hodeidah. #Yemen
I know this place well & I didn’t expect that Saudi jets will hit hat area #peace4Yemen pic.twitter.com/Na0tqKbQK1

— Fatik Al-Rodaini (@Fatikr) October 24, 2018

#الحديدة صور اضافية من #مجزرة_المسعودي_بالحديدة#جرائم_العدوان_في_الحديدة

Al-Hudaydah
Additional photos of the massacre of USA – KSA aggression in the Masoudi area in Al-Hudaydah pic.twitter.com/KdJtipxL7O

— د.يوسف الحاضري (@abo_raghad20112) October 24, 2018

Graphic: video showing after math of Saudi strike on a veg souk in Bait al-Faqih district of Yemen’s western Hudeidah province. Death toll now reportedly stands at 20https://t.co/zC4MZi6JuP

— Shuaib M. Almosawa (@Shuaibalmosawa) October 24, 2018

Attacks on food markets like this one are part of the coalition’s systematic campaign to target and destroy Yemen’s food production and distribution. The coalition has made a regular practice of targeting farms, fishing boats, and marketplaces as part of an effort to deprive an already malnourished population of food. There is no possible justification for targeting civilians as they were trying to obtain food from a local market. The slaughter of almost two dozen people is a reminder that Saudi coalition forces continue to hit civilian targets with great frequency, and civilians in and around Hodeidah are at great risk of being killed and wounded while the coalition’s attack on the port and its surroundings continues.

This latest massacre of civilians by coalition forces has been followed by news that the Hodeidah offensive is soon going to escalate:

The Saudi-led coalition has sent reinforcements to Yemen’s west coast ahead of a fresh assault on the rebel-held port city of Hodeida, Yemeni officials said Wednesday.

The city is a lifeline for international aid deliveries, and the battle to wrest it from the rebels has, like the rest of Yemen’s war, fallen into a stalemate.

Unless the U.S. cuts off support to the coalition and halts this offensive, there will be many more attacks on civilians like the airstrike on this vegetable market. Civilian casualties keep rising, and U.S. military assistance is just helping the coalition to blow up civilian targets. Congress needs to vote for H.Con.Res. 138 and S.J.Res. 54 to put a stop to this once and for all.