Yemen’s Houthi rebels reported dozens of Saudi airstrikes on Wednesday, as renewed daily attacks escalated a conflict that has intensified amid the wider Middle East war. Hundreds of people have reportedly been killed in fighting near the Red Sea.
More than 40 attacks targeted several areas, including the flashpoints of Taiz and Hodeida, where Houthi forces and the Saudi-backed government have engaged in fierce clashes, the rebels said.
The renewed strikes followed one day after the Iran-backed group launched its heaviest missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia in years, setting oil facilities ablaze and wounding 73 people.
The fighting in Yemen is unfolding against the backdrop of the Middle East war, which began in late February with US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
On Wednesday, Iran said it had attacked 20 American vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and targeted a US military base in Jordan. Tehran said the actions were retaliation for US strikes on Iranian oil tankers.
The regional conflict has drawn in Yemen and other major energy producers while disrupting the global economy and pushing oil prices back to $100 a barrel on Wednesday.
More than 500 people have been killed since the Houthis began a major offensive last week to seize territory around the Bab al-Mandab strait, a strategic gateway to the Red Sea shipping route.
Analysts said the rebels’ attacks on Saudi oil tankers were intended to tighten their pressure on shipments. The vessels provide an important outlet for Yemeni exports after Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Dangerous escalation
Houthi-aligned Almasirah TV said Saudi airstrikes hit “various areas across the governorates of Marib, Al-Jawf, Taiz and Hodeida” during the past few hours.
Saudi Arabia had no immediate official comment.
The Saudi civil defence later issued a warning for Khamis Mushait, a southern Saudi city near the Yemeni border, but lifted it shortly afterward.
On Tuesday, Saudi authorities promised a response to the Houthi assaults, saying they had caused fires and temporary shutdowns at oil facilities.
The Houthis helped end the period of inactivity in July by allowing an Iranian aircraft to land, in an apparent challenge to Saudi control of Yemen’s airspace.
The government responded by striking the airport, an attack the rebels attributed to Saudi Arabia, their principal sponsor at the time.
The fighting now risks dragging Yemen back into the war that killed hundreds of thousands of people and produced one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises.
After taking over Yemen’s capital and expelling the internationally recognized government, the Houthis fought a Saudi-led coalition from 2015 until a UN-brokered ceasefire took effect in 2022.
On Tuesday, the European Union called on the Houthis to halt their offensive, describing the renewed violence as a “dangerous escalation”.
“We call on the Houthis to immediately end all attacks inside and outside Yemen, including attacks against commercial shipping in the Red Sea,” said Anouar El Anouni, a spokesman for the bloc’s diplomatic service.
Also Read
- Exclusive Report: Credible Evidence Links Sudan Conflict to Possible Chemical Weapon Deployment
- Loop Capital Initiates Affirm Coverage with Buy Rating, Highlighting Undervalued Growth Trajectory
- N Korea has built two-storey uranium enrichment facility, says watchdog
- Assessing Trump’s Loyalty to the Republican Party