A Saudi-led air strike on southern Yemen killed 23 people early on Saturday in Saqayn region, near Saada province.

A Saudi-led air strike on southern Yemen killed 23 people early on Saturday in Saqayn region, near Saada province.

The warplanes of the Saudi-US aggression also bombed the capital Sanaa, targeting the Yemeni air defense headquarters, witnesses said.

In separate development, Ansarullah group said on Saturday that a pause in fighting to last until the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan was under discussion with the United Nations to allow for deliveries of humanitarian aid.

Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul Salam said in a post on his Facebook page he had met UN special envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed on Friday to discuss the matter.

The UN envoy is also holding discussions with the pro-Hadi government in Saudi Arabia to push for a pause, sources said.

The European Union said on Friday it supported UN efforts to secure a lasting, predictable and sustainable humanitarian ceasefire and demanded that Saudi-led forces ease restrictions on entry of ships to Yemeni ports.

More than 2,800 people have been killed since the Saudi-US military campaign began on March 26. The United Nations says more than 21 million people, over 80 percent of the population, are now in need of some form of humanitarian aid.

The UN on Wednesday designated the war in Yemen as a Level 3 humanitarian crisis, its most severe category.

Nationwide fuel shortages have spread disease and suffering in arid Yemen, where access to water usually depends on fuel-powered pumps and more than 20 million people, 80 percent of the population, needs some form of aid, according to the United Nations.