Houthis claim Saudi Arabia carried out 28 airstrikes across Yemen over the past 24 hours

The Houthis said Sunday that Saudi Arabia carried out 28 airstrikes across several parts of Yemen over the past 24 hours, as fighting intensified between the Iran-backed group and the Riyadh-supported Yemeni government amid a renewed civil war.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the Saudi air force conducted 28 strikes targeting the governorates of Taiz, Al-Jawf and Marib. He claimed the attacks involved F-15 and Typhoon fighter jets operating from the Khamis Mushait and Taif airbases.

The Houthis, who already control most of Yemen’s populated areas, launched a rapid offensive this month aimed at seizing the country’s entire Red Sea coastline, potentially giving them control over the strategically important Bab al-Mandab Strait.

The group maintains that navigation through the strait remains open and unrestricted, except for Saudi vessels.

Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said Saturday that the Iran-backed group had fired a ballistic missile toward Riyadh at dawn. The report came after a fire was detected near the Saudi capital’s international airport.

Yemen’s conflict began in 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa. Although fighting had largely remained frozen since 2022, hostilities resumed in July.

Saudi Arabia has led a coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognised government since 2015. Its military intervention intensified the conflict, contributing to one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises in the impoverished country.

In 2025, the United Nations warned that around 17 million people in Yemen were struggling to obtain enough food, while another one million were facing extreme hunger.