A wave of Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia on Tuesday wounded at least 73 people and sparked fires at several oil facilities and utilities in the kingdom's southern region, according to authorities. The attacks represent a significant escalation in the renewed conflict between Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally, and the Iran-backed Houthi group in Yemen.
The assaults occurred after weeks of intensifying clashes between the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces in Yemen, which shattered a four-year truce in the country's civil war. The fighting threatens to disrupt shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a vital route for oil and global trade in the Arabian Peninsula. This comes at a time when the war in Yemen has already significantly impacted shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, a spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition, stated that the attacks targeted civilian and economic facilities in the Saudi cities of Abha, Jazan, Najran, and Khamis Mushait. He reported that 73 people, including women and children, were injured. The kingdom's Energy Ministry confirmed that operations at the affected oil facilities and utilities were temporarily suspended as firefighters battled the blazes.
The Houthi group claimed responsibility for the attacks, describing them as a response to recent Saudi airstrikes. Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, the group's military spokesman, said they launched dozens of ballistic missiles and drones targeting oil and economic facilities, as well as an air base in southern Saudi Arabia. He specifically mentioned strikes on Jazan City for Primary and Downstream Industries, Aramco facilities in Najran and Abha, and King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait.
"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," said Nasruddin Amer, deputy head of the Houthi media office. The attacks followed an earlier Houthi accusation that Saudi Arabia was responsible for an airstrike on a prison in Yemen's northern Jawf province that killed at least seven people.
The current escalation appears to stem from a Houthi attempt to fly a plane from Tehran to Yemen's capital, Sanaa, which was reportedly blocked by a Saudi-led coalition airstrike on the Sanaa airport runway. This action by the Houthis led to missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia and a blockade of Saudi shipping in the Red Sea, effectively ending a 2022 truce.
Fighting has intensified on multiple fronts within Yemen, including the west coast, where government forces claim to have made territorial gains in the provinces of Hodeida, Taiz, and Baydah. The renewed conflict has displaced approximately 18,500 people in Taiz and Hodeida, according to the International Organization for Migration, placing further strain on already vulnerable communities.
Yemen's civil war began in 2014 when the Houthis seized Sanaa. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 to support the internationally recognized government. The conflict has resulted in a significant humanitarian crisis, with UN estimates suggesting at least 150,000 deaths and pushing the country to the brink of famine at various times.