SANAA, Nov. 13 -- At least eight "passengers" fleeing escalating fighting in Yemen's war-torn port city of Hodeidah were killed on Tuesday when a Saudi-led coalition airstrike hit a bus, Houthi rebel-controlled Saba news agency reported.

The bus was hit while traveling on the highway near al-Jarrahi district, to the south of the port city, it said without providing further details.

There were no comments yet from the coalition on the Houthi's claim.

On Oct. 13, a coalition airstrike hit two buses of passengers fleeing the escalating war in Masbarah area south of Hodeidah, killing 17 people, mostly women and children, and wounding 20 others, according to local hospital officials.

Rebel-held Hodeidah port is a main entry point of about 80 percent of Yemen's commercial imports and UN humanitarian aid. The port was still operating normally.

The rebels seized the port city in late 2014 after they overran the capital Sanaa.

The government forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition have recaptured most coastal areas south of the port city since last July. The war has escalated in the city following the collapse of peacemaking efforts by the UN in Geneva on Sept. 8, after Houthi rebels refused to attend.

The troops have advanced to near the city's center over the past few days, fighting the rebels from a street to another.

Taking the port city would be a major gain since the civil war erupted four years ago, and would force the loser to sit on the negotiation table.

Saudi Arabia is leading the Arab military coalition that intervened in Yemen in March 2015 to support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after the Houthi rebels forced him into exile.