Escalating Yemen Conflict Sparks Houthi Retaliation and Security Alerts in Saudi Arabia

Clashes have intensified across Yemen, with the internationally recognized government alleging that Houthi forces killed three children in an artillery strike, while Saudi Arabia accused the Iran-backed group of persistently targeting its infrastructure.

The allegations emerged after warnings of impending strikes sounded across several Saudi provinces early Thursday, as the Houthis vowed retaliation following accusations that Riyadh had launched 54 airstrikes over a 12-hour period.

The escalating hostilities between the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces occur against a backdrop of heightened regional tensions fueled by the ongoing conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran. Pakistan cautioned earlier this week that sustained Houthi assaults could activate the recently signed Mecca Joint Defense Agreement—a mutual security pact involving Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Iran rejected the Arab League’s criticism of its involvement in Yemen, asserting that the Houthis operate independently.

According to the World Health Organization, the violent clashes have killed or wounded more than 1,000 individuals since August 24, displacing tens of thousands of residents.

State-run Saba news agency reported on Wednesday that at least three children, including an infant, were killed in Houthi shelling within the central Marib governorate. Six others sustained injuries in the assault, which Saba identified as the second of its kind within 48 hours. A prior strike had killed two children and wounded 15 others, the agency noted.

In response, the Houthis stated that the death toll from an attack on a prison in the northern al-Jawf governorate has risen to at least 32 people. They also reported that seven additional individuals were wounded in the Tuesday assault on the facility.

War in Yemen

Yemen has been engulfed in civil conflict since 2014, when the Houthis captured the capital, Sanaa. This seizure prompted a Saudi-led military intervention the following year, triggering a devastating war that claimed an estimated 150,000 lives.

A United Nations-brokered truce halted large-scale hostilities in 2022, but fighting resumed in July following a strike on the Houthi-controlled Sanaa airport. Last week, the Houthis launched a major offensive in Hodeidah and Taiz provinces, aiming to advance toward the Bab el-Mandeb strait—a crucial maritime chokepoint for Saudi oil exports. This offensive prompted government-aligned forces to launch counterattacks and expand operations elsewhere, including in the al-Jawf governorate, which is considered a gateway to Sanaa.

The violence has also spilled over into Saudi Arabia.

Major General Turki al-Maliki, a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, stated on Wednesday that the Houthis were “persisting” in their attacks on the kingdom’s assets and infrastructure. He noted that the rebels targeted Khamis Mushait, Abha, and Jazan using ballistic missiles and drones.

He pledged that the coalition would respond to what he described as the Houthis’s “heinous attacks.”

Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defense authority issued multiple alerts for Khamis Mushait and Abha early Thursday, following similar warnings for the same areas on Wednesday.

No casualties were reported in connection with those alerts.

Wednesday’s attacks came as the Houthis promised to retaliate against Saudi airstrikes.

In a social media statement, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed that Saudi forces had carried out 54 airstrikes across six provinces over a 12-hour period on Wednesday, targeting al-Jawf, Marib, Taiz, Hodeidah, Saada, and al-Bayda. He did not specify whether the strikes caused casualties but stated that the aircraft had departed from King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait and King Fahd Air Base in Taif.

“These airstrikes and the ongoing aggression against our country will not go unanswered and unpunished, by the will and power of God,” Saree stated.

On Tuesday, Saree had claimed that Saudi forces had conducted 121 airstrikes on Houthi-controlled territory in preceding days, including a strike on the prison in al-Hazm, al-Jawf. The Houthis reported retaliating by attacking Aramco facilities in Abha, Najran, and Jizan, as well as the Economic City and Khamis Mushait Air Base.

Saudi officials stated on Tuesday that Houthi attacks had wounded at least 73 people.

Regional tensions

Separately on Wednesday, Yemeni government-aligned forces reported continued advancement in al-Jawf for a third consecutive day, reaching the vicinity of Bir al-Maraziq and claiming to have severed Houthi supply lines in the area.

The forces also claimed to have struck Houthi positions in Taiz and that additional reinforcements had been dispatched Wednesday to bolster anti-Houthi National Resistance forces along Yemen’s western coast. These claims could not be independently verified.

Pakistani officials reiterated this week that any attack on Saudi Arabia could activate the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, which the three nations signed last month to strengthen collective deterrence against future assaults.

“If there is unprovoked aggression, or a spillover of whatever is happening in Yemen into Saudi Arabia, definitely the Mecca agreement will become operational,” Pakistan’s defence minister told local media.

Iran, meanwhile, sharply criticized an earlier statement from Arab League foreign ministers, who condemned what they termed “Iranian violations of Yemen’s sovereignty” and urged Tehran to cease any activities threatening Yemen’s territorial integrity or airspace.

In response, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated it “completely rejects the claims regarding Iran’s interference in the affairs of Yemen,” adding that it had “consistently emphasised the need to preserve Yemen’s unity and territorial integrity” and had supported Yemeni-led dialogue based on a UN-backed roadmap.

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