Congress shifts its attention to the war in Yemen this coming week amid rising concerns about the civilian death toll.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee holds a hearing Oct. 8 on the US role and stategy in Yemen and the Gulf counties. The hearing comes as the Saudi-led coalition against Houthi rebels is being blamed for killing more than 130 people in a missile strike against a wedding party Sept. 28.

The rising death toll — 4,500 people killed through late September, according to the United Nations, more than half of them civilians — is putting pressure on lawmakers to play a bigger role in overseeing US support for the coalition. The Obama administration remains supportive of the offensive against the Iran-backed rebels and declined to support Dutch calls for an independent UN probe this past week, ensuring passage of an alternative Saudi plan for a national investigation by Yemen.

In the House, the Foreign Affairs panel on the Middle East on Oct. 6 holds the first in a series of hearings on the humanitarian crisis in Syria. Witnesses include representatives from Save the Children, Mercy Corps, World Vision and the Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere.