Yemen’s Government Reports 20 Airstrikes on Houthi Positions in Taiz

Oct 2 (Reuters) – Yemen’s internationally recognized government said its warplanes conducted 20 strikes over the past three hours, targeting Houthi fighters, vehicles, and equipment in Taiz province.

The attacks mark the sharpest escalation between Saudi Arabia and the Iran‑backed Houthis since a UN‑brokered truce largely stopped cross‑border fighting in 2022.

Control of southwestern Yemen’s Taiz would enable the Houthis to dominate the north, tighten their hold on the Red Sea coastline, and gain easier routes to the south and the port city of Aden, where the government is based.

The renewed fighting has already displaced tens of thousands and could alter the balance of power in Yemen, with repercussions for Red Sea shipping and the Bab el‑Mandeb Strait.

Saudi Arabia said on Thursday that the Houthis struck a power substation in Medina that supplies electricity to the Prophet’s Mosque.

A Houthi military official, speaking to the Houthi‑run Saba news agency, denied the accusation, claiming it was an attempt to hide Saudi Arabia’s inability to prove an earlier allegation that the Houthis had targeted the holy city of Mecca.

Two weeks prior, Saudi forces said they intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone south of Mecca before it entered restricted airspace; the Houthis rejected any suggestion they aimed at Mecca or other Islamic holy sites.

Fighting spread across Taiz, and authorities closed all roads entering the province, designating them military zones, according to six military sources cited by Reuters.

Approximately 19 routes were affected, including the main highway from southern Sanaa to Taiz, the sources added.

(Reporting by Tala Ramadan and Mohammed Ghobari; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Tom Hogue)

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