A senior United Nations official in Yemen has condemned the Saudi-led air strike which killed at least 12 civilians, including children, saying it showed a complete “disregard” for human life.

Three women and six children from the same family were killed as they slept in the dawn air strike by the Saudi-led coalition opposing the Houthi rebels in the Yemeni civil war, according to Reuters.

The youngest of the children killed was just two years old, according to medical officials.

The civilians were killed and ten others wounded in the attack on their home in the Saada province, according to the UK’s humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, Jamie McGoldrick, and other aid groups.

Mr McGoldrick expressed “deep concern” about the Saudi-led action in an official statement in which he accused the coalition of violating international law.

“While these new incidents are still being investigated by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, they are an example of the brutality in which the conflict is being conducted.

“All parties to the conflict continue to show a disregard for the protection of civilians and the principle of distinction between civilians and combatants in the conduct of hostilities.

“As I have said before, even wars have rules and such rules must be respected.”

The situation in Yemen Show all 14 1 /14 The situation in Yemen The situation in Yemen Houthi supporters trample on a US flag during a gathering mobilizing more fighters into several Yemeni battlefronts, in Sana'a, Yemen EPA The situation in Yemen People carry the coffins of men, who were killed in the recent Saudi-led airstrikes during their funeral, in the Old City of Sanaa, Yemen AP The situation in Yemen Pro-government fighters give food to Yemeni children on the road leading to the southwestern port city of Mokha. Yemeni rebels are putting up fierce resistance in a key Red Sea port city where they are encircled by pro-government force Getty Images The situation in Yemen A Yemeni stands in front of a graffiti protesting US military operations in war-affected Yemen, in Sana'a, Yemen. According to reports, US Special Forces troops allegedly disembarked from US helicopters in the Yemeni town of Yakla and attacked several houses belonging to members of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda, killing three high-ranking Al-Qaeda members and nine civilians, six women and three children. One American serviceman has been killed and three injured in the attack EPA The situation in Yemen US Special Forces troops allegedly disembarked from US helicopters in the Yemeni town of Yakla and attacked several houses belonging to members of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda, killing three high-ranking Al-Qaeda members and nine civilians, six women and three children. One American serviceman has been killed and three injured in the attack EPA The situation in Yemen A Yemeni female fighter supporting the Shiite Huthi rebels, and carrying weapons used for ceremonial purposes, takes part in an anti-Saudi rally in the capital Sanaa Getty Images The situation in Yemen Yemeni female fighters supporting the Shiite Huthi rebels, and carrying weapons used for ceremonial purposes, take part in an anti-Saudi rally in the capital Sanaa Getty Images The situation in Yemen A boy shouts slogans next to pro-Houthi fighters, who have been injured during recent fighting, during a rally held to honour those injured or maimed while fighting in Houthi ranks in Sanaa, Yemen Reuters The situation in Yemen Balls of fire and smoke rise from a Houthi-held military camp following alleged Saudi-led airstrikes, in Sana'a, Yemen EPA The situation in Yemen Yemenis search under the rubble of damaged houses following reported Saudi-led coalition air strikes on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital Sanaa Getty Images The situation in Yemen A Yemeni boy looks on as Yemenis search under the rubble of damaged houses following reported Saudi-led coalition air strikes on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital Sanaa Getty The situation in Yemen A Yemeni boy sits amidst the rubble of damaged houses following reported Saudi-led coalition air strikes on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital Sanaa AFP/Getty The situation in Yemen Marine One with US President Donald Trump flies with a decoy and support helicopters to Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, for the dignified transfer of Navy Seal Chief Petty Officer William 'Ryan' Owens who was killed in Yemen Getty Images The situation in Yemen US President Donald Trump aboard the Marine One to greet the remains of a US military commando killed during a raid on the al Qaeda militant group in southern Yemen on Sunday, at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, US Reuters

Yemen has been torn apart by the civil war in which the exiled government of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, supported by the Saudi-led coalition, is fighting the Iran-allied Houthi group.

The Houthi group hails from the Zaidi branch of Shia Islam and controls much of the north of the country.

Its stronghold is in the capital city, Sanaa, which has been hit by multiple air strikes since the coalition of Arab states joined the civil war in March 2015. The group opposed what it regards as Iran’s attempt to expand its influence in Yemen.

The Saudi government has so far declined to comment on the latest air strike, which has been roundly condemned by human rights groups.

It was not clear if the house was hit by mistake, but the coalition maintains that it does not target civilians.

The war has led to one of the worse humanitarian crises in recent history, displacing more than three million people and killing at least 10,000 through famine and the worst outbreak of cholera in living memory.

The Red Cross has warned an estimated 600,000 people could contract cholera as the epidemic sweeps through Yemen, where around 70 per cent of the population of 27 million is now reliant on some form of humanitarian aid.

A total of 14.5 million people do not have regular access to clean water and 7.3 million live on the brink of famine, while less than half of the country’s medical centres are still functional.

Saudi Arabia and its allies have been accused of exacerbating the crisis by obstructing the delivery of fuel for UN planes, which are attempting to bring aid into the starving country.