Houthis Claim Saudi Arabia Carried Out Over 50 Strikes in 24 Hours

Yemen’s Houthis said Sunday that Saudi Arabia had carried out more than 50 airstrikes on their positions over the past 24 hours, following the Iran-backed group’s claim of a rare drone and missile attack on a Saudi military base.

The renewed violence comes as fighting between the Houthis and Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces intensifies. The conflict reignited in July after the Houthis announced a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and began targeting Saudi-linked vessels in the Red Sea.

The latest escalation followed a week-long Houthi offensive that saw the group seize parts of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, strengthening its control over areas near the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait.

The waterway is a key route for Saudi oil shipments, particularly as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed amid the ongoing US-Iran conflict.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a Telegram post that Saudi Arabia had carried out 58 airstrikes over the previous 24 hours.

The Houthis also launched their heaviest missile and drone assault on Saudi Arabia in years this week, reportedly setting several oil facilities ablaze and injuring 73 people.

Houthi-run Almasirah TV reported Sunday that Saudi aircraft conducted two strikes on Saada, a Houthi stronghold, while artillery fire was also reported in Monabbih district near the Saudi border.

Later, the channel reported two further Saudi strikes on a market in northern Yemen’s Al-Jawf province.

The Houthis said more than 100 strikes had targeted their positions since Tuesday, although Riyadh has not publicly confirmed the figures.

So far, Saudi strikes have largely focused on front-line areas supporting Yemeni government forces rather than major Houthi power centres such as the capital, Sanaa.

Tens of thousands displaced

The latest fighting has displaced nearly 86,000 people in Yemen in recent weeks, according to a UN agency, with the figure rising by around 10,000 in a single day. The International Organization for Migration said more than 2,000 people had also fled Yemen for Djibouti.

Earlier Sunday, the Houthis said they had used drones and missiles to attack the Sharurah military base in southern Saudi Arabia, targeting weapons depots and command-and-control centres.

Saudi civil defence authorities said two people were injured Saturday after a Houthi projectile landed in the Jizan region near the Yemeni border.

Yemen’s civil war began in 2014 when the Houthis seized Sanaa and ousted the internationally recognised government. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015, and the conflict largely remained dormant following a UN-brokered ceasefire in 2022 before renewed fighting erupted in July.

The war has killed hundreds of thousands of people and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Yemen has now become another flashpoint in the wider Middle East conflict that began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February.

US news outlet Axios reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman twice contacted US President Donald Trump last week seeking strikes against the Houthis, but the request was reportedly rejected.