RIYADH/SANAA (MNN); Fighting between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthi movement has sharply escalated, with the Saudi-led coalition saying it intercepted and destroyed three ballistic missiles launched toward the southern Saudi city of Khamis Mushait.
The latest missile interceptions came amid a renewed exchange of attacks between the Saudi-led coalition and the Iran-aligned Houthis, marking one of the most serious escalations since a UN-brokered truce largely halted cross-border fighting in 2022.
The coalition has reported several recent interceptions over southern Saudi Arabia. On Thursday, it said it had intercepted two ballistic missiles and four drones over Khamis Mushait and Jazan. Saudi authorities also reported damage to buildings and vehicles from missile debris, although no casualties were immediately reported.
Meanwhile, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed that Saudi forces had carried out 94 airstrikes during a 24-hour period against areas controlled by the group. He said the attacks targeted locations in Sanaa, Saada, Taiz, Hajjah, Amran and Al Bayda.
The Houthis further claimed that the total number of Saudi strikes since the renewed fighting began had reached 1,350. The figures have not been independently verified.
The latest escalation followed a Saudi-led coalition accusation that the Houthis had attacked a power-distribution station in Medina that supplies electricity to the Prophet’s Mosque. The coalition said the attack disabled one transformer but did not disrupt the wider electricity network. It said an investigation and examination of drone wreckage had linked the attack to the Houthis.
The Houthis denied responsibility, describing the Saudi accusation as false.
Fighting has also intensified inside Yemen. Yemen’s internationally recognised government said its forces conducted 20 airstrikes against Houthi positions in Taiz province within a three-hour period, targeting personnel, military movements, vehicles and equipment.
The strategic importance of the conflict has increased after Houthi forces expanded their presence around the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a major maritime passage linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. Reuters reported that Saudi Arabia is preparing a possible military offensive involving Yemeni ground forces backed by Saudi air power to regain control of the strategic waterway and restore maritime access. The timing and scale of any such operation remain uncertain.
The renewed confrontation is also taking place as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye prepare to discuss the crisis under their newly established Makkah Joint Defence Agreement. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said an emergency meeting of the pact’s members is expected in Riyadh next week, including discussion of a possible political approach toward the Houthis.
The intensification of fighting has raised concerns over further regional instability, civilian displacement and the security of commercial shipping through the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab.
