Severe Houthi Missile and Drone Strikes Target Saudi Arabia as Displacement Soars in Yemen

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels have launched a new wave of attacks on Saudi Arabia following an advance along Yemen's western coastline that has displaced nearly 94,000 people. Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defence urged residents in six cities to remain indoors and away from windows, rooftops, and exposed areas during the Houthi offensive on Tuesday morning. The affected cities included Yanbu, the kingdom’s primary Red Sea oil port, where millions of barrels of crude are handled daily. Authorities later reported that the danger had passed in Abha, AlUla, Jazan, Jeddah, and Taif.

Saudi officials announced late on Monday that Houthi strikes on civilian areas had injured 13 people while damaging seven residential homes and two vehicles. Maj Gen Turki Al Malki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, stated that the Houthis targeted civilian areas in Abha, Khamis Mushait, and Taif with ballistic missiles and drones. Meanwhile, the Houthis claimed they fired dozens of ballistic missiles and drones specifically at Saudi Arabia’s King Khalid airbase, located near Khamis Mushait.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree reported that the targets included aircraft hangars, radar systems, runways, and ammunition depots, describing the operation as retaliation for Saudi strikes on Yemen. In a statement released late on Monday, Saree noted that Saudi warplanes had conducted 54 air strikes over the preceding 24 hours using F-15 fighter jets and Typhoons operating from bases in Khamis Mushait and Taif. He warned that strikes hitting Taiz, Lahj, Al Jawf, Marib, and Hajjah would not pass without a response and punishment.

Growing concern surrounds the safety of civilian areas, with Human Rights Watch issuing a report on Tuesday stating that at least three recent Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden likely constituted war crimes. HRW researcher Niku Jafarnia emphasized that civilian crews must be protected under international humanitarian law. This escalation coincides with Houthi fighters advancing along Yemen’s western coast toward the Bab Al Mandeb strait, a vital global shipping route connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Officials from Yemen's internationally recognized government noted that the Houthis are entrenching themselves along the coast and maintaining control over much of the Red Sea shoreline, raising fears regarding shipping security and Saudi oil exports.

The humanitarian toll in Yemen continues to rise severely. The International Organisation for Migration reported on Tuesday that 93,864 individuals were newly displaced across Yemen due to ongoing fighting and flooding, with Taiz and Lahj experiencing the worst impacts. In the Jabal Habashy district of Taiz, 18,840 people were newly displaced, while 16,464 were displaced in the Al Mudharibah district of Lahj. The International Organisation for Migration figures highlight that this fresh displacement compounds years of conflict that have already forced millions from their homes and heightened dependence on humanitarian assistance.

Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition against the Houthis since 2015, although the conflict had largely de-escalated under a recent ceasefire. The Houthis captured the strategic port of Mokha last Thursday and subsequently took control of Perim and Zuqar islands near the Bab Al Mandeb strait. Sources informed The National that Iran assisted in directing the Houthi advance along the Red Sea coast, including the capture of Perim, with Abdul Reza Shahlai, a high-ranking commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force, central to the operation. Perim, spanning 13 square kilometres, divides the strait into two channels between Yemen’s mainland and Djibouti, granting significant strategic advantages in monitoring maritime traffic entering or leaving the Red Sea.