On Friday, Saudi Arabian forces targeted Houthi military positions in Hodeida, and rebel media reported that two individuals were injured following the Iran‑aligned group’s declaration of a maritime blockade against the kingdom and subsequent attacks on its vessels.
Recently, Saudi Arabia and the Houthi rebels exchanged fire for the first time in several years, jeopardizing the 2022 cease‑fire agreement that had remained in place even after its official expiration.
The Saudi‑led coalition stated that it struck Houthi sites and destroyed installations posing a threat to commercial shipping in the Red Sea, acting in response to recent attacks on maritime traffic.
A Yemeni security official said that the strikes hit a naval base in Hodeida as well as a military camp on Kamaran Island.
The escalation followed an attack on a Saudi vessel, and the rebels’ maritime blockade raised concerns that the top oil‑exporting nation’s capacity to supply the world could be impaired, especially after Iran’s simultaneous blockade of the Strait of Hormuz — Riyadh’s sole alternative sea route.
“The Houthi terrorist military … targeted commercial ships in the Red Sea,” Turki al‑Maliki, the Saudi‑led coalition’s spokesperson, said on social media.