The Saudi Civil Defense issued warnings to “warn of danger” in three areas in the south of the Kingdom adjacent to Yemen on Tuesday, in light of the escalation with the Houthis, who launched attacks on the south of the Kingdom during the night, leaving dozens wounded.
A civil defense post on the Minutes later, the device announced that the danger had passed.
On Tuesday, the Saudi authorities reported that more than seventy people were injured, and fires broke out in several locations, including the King Khalid Military Air Base, Abha International Airport, and facilities belonging to the state oil company Aramco in Abha and Jizan, following attacks launched by the Ansar Allah group (Houthis), in which drones and missiles were used.
The attacks resulted in the injury of 73 civilians in the Kingdom, and the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the Kingdom affirms “its legitimate right to take all necessary measures to defend its sovereignty,” stressing “the necessity of immediately stopping all forms of escalation practiced by this militia, and its continued threats to the security of maritime navigation.”
The Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen pledged to respond firmly to the Houthi attacks, and the official spokesman for the coalition forces, Major General Turki al-Maliki, described the attacks as a “flagrant violation of the Kingdom’s sovereignty,” stressing that the coalition leadership would take “all necessary operational measures to deter” the Houthis.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said during a press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow that the door to diplomacy with the Houthis is still open, but the Kingdom will not hesitate to respond.
He said, "I am not saying that the road is closed to diplomacy. The Kingdom will always support peace and diplomatic solutions, but it will not hesitate to defend itself, protect its interests, and support what also achieves the interests, security and stability of Yemen."
Later Tuesday, Houthi-controlled media reported that Saudi warplanes launched four air strikes on the Juba District, east of the capital, Sanaa.
These developments come days after the escalation of fighting in Yemen, between the Houthis supported by Iran and the forces of the internationally recognized Yemeni government supported by Riyadh, and the Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of launching air strikes on their positions.
Later Tuesday, the Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah TV said, “The Saudi aggression launched a series of raids on the Al-Waziyah District” in Taiz Governorate, after Saudi Arabia announced that it launched 4 raids on the Al-Jawba District in Marib.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for attacking Saudi economic and military facilities with ballistic missiles and drones on Tuesday, stressing that the strikes came in response to Riyadh carrying out “121 air strikes” in Yemen during the past three days, according to what was reported by Agence France-Presse.
The group reported on its website and in posts on Telegram that it had bombed targets in southern Saudi Arabia, including Abha Airport and oil facilities.
The Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Saree, confirmed that the Houthis launched a large military operation deep into Saudi Arabia.
He said in a statement on the
He added: "The casualties were accurate... and direct, and caused significant damage to those facilities," noting that the strikes came in response to Riyadh launching "121 air strikes" in Yemen over the past three days.
For his part, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held Iran responsible for the attacks.
Rubio told reporters, "In many ways, the Houthis are tools and agents of Iran. I believe that the Iranian hand is clearly behind some of these attacks."
He continued: "The armed forces hold the Saudi enemy responsible for the escalation. Every attack on our country and our people will be met with a firm response, and we will not hesitate to direct stronger and broader strikes against the criminal Saudi enemy."
He added: "All the movements, attacks and mobilizations of the Saudi enemy will not terrorize our country, nor will they discourage the resolve of our people... We confirm that we are continuing our operations towards the Saudi depth, targeting its mobilizations and establishing the equation of siege with siege, until the aggression stops and the siege of our country is lifted."
The current battles are considered the most violent in Yemen in years, after the Houthis launched, since Thursday, a ground attack that coincided with missile and drone bombardment of coastal areas overlooking the Red Sea and in the vicinity of Taiz, in an attempt to advance towards areas adjacent to the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait controlled by the government.
On Tuesday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attacks launched by the Houthis on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, which resulted in dozens being injured.
“We condemn the cross-border Houthi attacks on multiple locations in southern Saudi Arabia,” Guterres said through his spokesman Stephane Dujarric, adding, “These attacks affected civilians and energy infrastructure, and we of course express our deep concern about reports of civilian casualties.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross warned on Tuesday that the exchange of strikes between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis in Yemen threatens to expand the scope of the conflict in the Middle East, calling for an urgent de-escalation.
The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mirjana Spolijaric, said in a statement that there was a need to take “urgent steps” to reduce the intensity of hostilities between Saudi Arabia and the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, warning that not containing the fighting “could exacerbate the already dire humanitarian situation from which millions of people are suffering” in the region, and stressed the importance of “protecting civilians and basic infrastructure.”
The European Union, through its spokesman, also called on the Houthis to "stop all attacks," considering it a "dangerous escalation."
The spokesman for the European Union's diplomatic corps, Anwar al-Anouni, said that these attacks represent "a dangerous escalation, a violation of international law, an undermining of regional security and stability, and threaten to undermine efforts made to reach a peaceful solution to the conflict in Yemen."
For its part, Egypt condemned "in the strongest terms" the attacks launched by the Houthis on several sites in southern Saudi Arabia.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said, in a statement on Tuesday morning, that the attacks are “a dangerous escalation, a violation of the Kingdom’s sovereignty, and a threat to the security and safety of its people.”
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry also expressed its full solidarity with Saudi Arabia, and stressed that “the Kingdom’s security is an integral part of Egyptian and Arab national security.”
Jordan also condemned the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, as well as their continued targeting of commercial ships in the Red Sea, considering this “a blatant violation of Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty, a threat to its security, stability and territorial integrity, a flagrant violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations, and a threat to the security and safety of maritime navigation.”
The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed, in a statement on Tuesday, “Jordan’s absolute solidarity with sisterly Saudi Arabia, and its support in all the steps it takes to protect its security, stability, capabilities, and the safety of its citizens and residents.”
In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said during talks with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, that the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia “will backfire and harm the global economy.”
Lavrov added that it is unacceptable to resolve issues through military means, expressing Russia's readiness to mediate and help settle the situation in the Middle East.
While there were conflicting reports about the progress of the battles, and each party claimed to have achieved victories on the ground, the Financial Times reported that oil facilities belonging to Saudi Aramco in Jizan were subjected to a new attack, only a month after a separate strike that temporarily disrupted part of the production at the company’s refinery in the region.
The Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of launching air strikes and launching cruise missiles on Al-Jawf, Al-Bayda, Marib and Taiz governorates on Monday.
The Yemeni News Agency (Saba), affiliated with the Houthis, said that Saudi Arabia targeted the four governorates with a number of air strikes and cruise missiles, and that the Houthis shot down, on Monday morning, a Saudi reconnaissance plane in the airspace of Al-Bayda Governorate, in the center of the country.
The spokesman for the Houthi forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, said in a statement on Monday that his forces were able to shoot down a Wing Loong 2 armed reconnaissance plane while it was carrying out “hostile missions” in the airspace of Al Bayda Governorate.
Saree confirmed that the plane was targeted with an “appropriate weapon,” noting that it was the third shot down by the “Ansar Allah” group during the past twenty-four hours.
Saudi Arabia did not claim responsibility for the raids and missiles that the Houthis spoke about, nor did it confirm that any of its drones were shot down.
But the forces affiliated with the internationally recognized government, based in Aden in the south of the country, announced the implementation of large-scale operations on several fronts, and said that they had regained sites and thwarted Houthi infiltration attempts, while several field developments have emerged during the past hours, according to a statement on the X platform.
Government forces, supported militarily and politically by Riyadh, said they carried out 13 air strikes on Houthi sites, gatherings and vehicles in Al-Bayda Governorate. It also carried out other raids on Houthi sites, gatherings and camps on the Marib fronts and other areas.
The Yemeni news agency (Saba), affiliated with the Yemeni government, said that its forces took control, on Monday, of Naqil and Jabal al-Kura on the Al-Kadha front in the Maqbanah district, west of the city of Taiz, following violent confrontations with the "Houthi militia."
Mount Al-Koura is one of the ruling mountainous sites overlooking parts of the Al-Kadha region, and the road linking the cities of Taiz and Al-Mokha on the western coast passes through it.
Meanwhile, a government military source confirmed that “the armed forces were able to establish positions north of the city of Hays, after advancing in the region,” referring to the district located in the far south-east of Hodeidah Governorate, on the front line and less than 30 kilometers from the Red Sea coast, according to Agence France-Presse.
The latest wave of fighting began after the Houthis launched, on Thursday, a massive attack on the fronts of the western coast of the Red Sea and in the vicinity of Taiz, coinciding with missile and drone bombardment, in an attempt to advance towards areas adjacent to the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait and under government control, which led to a major escalation in confrontations with government forces.
The British newspaper "Financial Times" quoted two knowledgeable people as saying that Aramco's oil infrastructure in Jizan was hit on Monday, and that work is underway to assess the extent of the damage, while one of them indicated that the latest attack was similar in size to the strike that occurred last month, according to what was reported by Reuters.
Jizan is located near the Yemeni border, and has previously been subjected to several attacks by the Houthis. The region includes an oil refinery with a refining capacity of 400,000 barrels per day, which is among the largest refineries in the Kingdom, in addition to associated facilities and energy infrastructure.
Aramco's CEO, Amin Nasser, said last month that the attacks caused some interruptions in the company's oil production, without having a material impact on its operations or financial condition. Aramco did not immediately respond to the newspaper’s request for information regarding the latest attack.
According to government military sources who spoke to Agence France-Presse, one of the main goals of the Houthi attack is to isolate the coastal city of Mokha, which is under government control, from the rest of the areas under its control, in addition to trying to advance towards areas near the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Last month, the city of Mokha was subjected to repeated attacks, while the Yemeni government warned last August of Houthi plans to control the coast of Bab al-Mandab. It also warned that any change in the map of control over this region may have repercussions that go beyond the borders of Yemen, especially on international shipping traffic.
Two military sources in the government forces reported that 84 of their members were killed between Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, while four Houthi sources reported that 57 of their members were killed during the same period.
The battles also forced a number of families to flee their homes in areas witnessing clashes.
In Al-Jawf Governorate, on the Yemeni-Saudi border to the north, fighting continued to control the Al-Labnat camp, which was under the control of the Houthis. Government forces announced the entry into the camp, as well as the control of the Al-Masafah village near the city of Al-Hazm, while the Houthis did not issue a statement confirming or denying these developments.
The spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Colonel Majid Al-Nuzaili, said that the Ministry of Defense used in the operation "specific capabilities that were recently introduced into service, and were able to destroy and neutralize the capabilities and Houthi elements in the camp."
The importance of the camp lies in its location east of the city of Al-Hazm, the capital of Al-Jawf Governorate, and on an important road axis linking Al-Jawf to Sanaa and Saada. It also gains importance in relation to the movement lines between Al-Jawf and Marib. Controlling it would affect the Houthi supply routes and facilitate the movement of government forces in the region.
The camp is also located on roads leading towards Saada and Amran, which are two of the most prominent areas of Houthi influence, which made it a frequent target of military operations by both sides throughout the war years.
Local reports stated that the Houthis have used the camp over the past years as a military site, a weapons and ammunition storehouse, and a point for moving forces towards the Marib and Al-Jawf fronts.
In July, Yemen returned to the forefront of regional escalation, with the renewed confrontation between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia in the wake of the war between the United States and Iran.
These confrontations began after the Houthis accused Riyadh of bombing Sanaa Airport to prevent an Iranian plane from landing there, before they announced the imposition of a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia and resumed targeting its tankers and oil facilities, which ended the truce with the Saudi-backed Yemeni government, which had begun in 2022.
