Houthi attacks on southern Saudi Arabia have injured 73 people and hit civilian, economic and energy facilities. The clashes in Yemen intensify and tensions continue to rise across the region. Women and children were among those wounded, according to Saudi authorities.
The attacks targeted several areas, including Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran, according to Saudi-led coalition spokesperson Major General Turki al-Maliki. He said the strikes hit civilian and economic infrastructure and called them a “serious escalation” that threatened Saudi Arabia's sovereignty and public safety, KSNT reported.
The strikes also hit energy sector facilities and installations in southern Saudi Arabia, igniting fires and forcing some operations to be temporarily suspended, according to the Saudi Press Agency. Emergency teams were sent in to put out the fires, secure the affected sites and assess the damage, while authorities activated contingency measures to protect energy infrastructure and keep operations running.
The Saudi-led coalition has vowed to take “necessary measures” in response to the attacks as the situation continues to unfold.
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Al-Maliki said the Saudi-led coalition would take all necessary operational measures against the Houthis, signalling a potentially stronger military response as tensions continue to rise in the region.
Praising the strikes on social media, Nasruddin Amer, deputy head of the Houthi media office overseeing the rebel-controlled Saba news agency, lauded the operation. He said, “The Saudi enemy has to understand that the time for committing crimes and massacres against the Yemeni people without response, deterrence, or paying a price has ended.”
The Houthi attacks followed accusations by the rebel group that Saudi Arabia had carried out an airstrike on a prison in Yemen's northern Jawf province. The Houthis claimed that the alleged strike killed seven people, including a child. Saudi Arabia had not immediately commented on the allegation.
Clashes have intensified along Yemen's western coastline as government forces claim territorial gains in the provinces of Hodeida, Taiz and Baydah. Meanwhile, Houthi forces continue to attack Red Sea shipping lanes and Saudi oil installations.
Seizing Sanaa in 2014, Houthi rebels drove Yemen's government into exile. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 to reinstate the leadership, but internal division soon dismantled the bloc. Escalating strategic disagreements between the main allies, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, fractured the partnership, culminating in the UAE pulling its military forces out of Yemen entirely.
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Estimates by the United Nations indicate that Yemen's civil war has killed at least 150,000 people, leaving the country on the verge of widespread starvation.
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