The Houthis announce the downing of a Saudi plane and tension escalates after they are accused of trying to target Mecca

The Houthis reported on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia launched new raids on Yemen, after accusing them of trying to target Mecca with a drone, which sparked a wave of condemnation in the Islamic world and an escalation of tension in the renewed conflict between the Iran-backed Ansar Allah group and the government that Riyadh supports.

After a calm for years, the conflict in Yemen has witnessed an escalation since July against the backdrop of the war in the Middle East. The Houthis are launching missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, which particularly targeted oil and military facilities. They say that Riyadh is launching raids on areas under their control.

Field clashes are also taking place between government forces and the Houthis, who last week expanded their areas of control and took control of the western coast all the way to the Bab al-Mandab Strait linking the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, and then Asia to Europe via the Suez Canal.

On Wednesday evening, the military spokesman for the Houthis, Yahya Saree, said via X: “During the past 24 hours, Saudi warplanes launched 40 air strikes with F-15 aircraft that took off from the Khamis Mushait base, targeting the governorates of Taiz, Ma’rib, and Hajjah.”

The coalition accused the Yemeni group of trying to target Mecca with a drone, which the Houthis were quick to deny.

Coalition spokesman Turki Al-Maliki said, "The security of the Two Holy Mosques and the guests of God is a red line," stressing "no hesitation in taking the necessary and deterrent measures against the terrorist Houthi militia and its hostile and terrorist behavior."

The "Ansar Allah" movement (the official name of the Houthis) denied this through a member of its political bureau, Hizam al-Assad, who said that "the allegations of targeting Mecca are a shameful lie that has been used up before, and no longer deceives anyone."

Residents in Mecca reported a state of panic on Tuesday night after the authorities issued a warning of a possible danger. One of them told Agence France-Presse, requesting that his name not be mentioned, “I saw some people in a state of panic rushing to the windows to understand what happened,” but he pointed out that “life is going on normally.”

On the ground, the Houthis announced on Wednesday that they had shot down a Saudi F-15 warplane in the airspace of Ma’rib Governorate.

Houthi media published a video clip that included night vision footage, showing what appeared to be a missile hitting a plane. In another shot, the wreckage of a downed plane appeared, with a charred tail fin bearing the Saudi flag.

They also announced the targeting of the Saudi Aramco Oil Company in Yanbu, overlooking the Red Sea, and the Khamis Mushait base.

Clashes took place in Al-Jawf Governorate, bordering Saudi Arabia, where government forces advanced at the expense of the Houthis in the Al-Labnat camp, part of which the Ansar Allah group still controls, according to military sources and footage from Agence France-Presse.

The footage showed soldiers aboard armored vehicles and trucks advancing through desert areas amid the sound of machine gun fire.

Two government military sources said, "The lower desert part of the Labnat camp is controlled by government forces, while the upper part, which includes mountains, is under the control of the Houthis. Intermittent clashes are taking place between the two sides as the Houthis are trying to regain the part that government forces were able to enter."

In addition, a video clip published by the Houthis showed their fighters rushing through the desert in Al-Jawf on board small trucks, and one of the shots shows them shooting at a vehicle that was advancing towards them.

With their advance last week, the Houthis expanded their areas of control, which for years include Sanaa and the city of Hodeidah.

However, the sudden and rapid attack they launched in the regions of western Yemen sparked a massive wave of displacement, whether towards the south and the city of Aden, which the government takes as its temporary headquarters, or across the sea to Djibouti, on a dangerous journey that many undertake because there are no alternatives to escape the fighting.

Among them is Wahida Muhammad Ali (40 years old), who fled the coastal city of Dhu Bab. She told Agence France-Presse after her arrival in Djibouti, “There was shooting everywhere, and we were completely helpless, without food or water... The children were crying, and they were terrified because of the fighting and the explosions.”