Yemen Conflict Escalates: Houthi Attacks Target Saudi Arabia Amidst Fierce Ground Battles

Forces aligned with Yemen’s government announced on Thursday the interception of a drone targeting Medina and a missile aimed at Riyadh, amidst intensifying clashes with the Houthi group. The fighting between Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces and Iran-aligned Houthi rebels has escalated along the western Red Sea coast, coupled with an increase in Houthi attacks on oil facilities and airports in neighboring Saudi Arabia.

On Wednesday, Yahya Saree, the military spokesman for the Houthis (also known as Ansar Allah or Supporters of God), declared a significant military operation targeting Aramco in Dhahran, as well as strikes on Riyadh airport and the capital's refinery. He indicated that these operations would persist, focusing on Saudi enemy airports and energy infrastructure.

A Saudi Ministry of Energy official confirmed that a building at Aramco in Dhahran sustained damage, resulting in a minor fire but no injuries or fatalities. Dhahran serves as the headquarters for Aramco, a sprawling complex. Concurrently, the Saudi-led coalition conducted airstrikes against the Houthi stronghold in Sanaa, Yemen's capital, which the armed group has controlled since 2014. The coalition had previously engaged the Houthis, who had also acquired substantial Yemeni military assets, until a ceasefire was brokered in 2022, a truce that has recently faltered.

Reporting from Sanaa, Al Jazeera's Yousef Mawry described the conflict as a retaliatory exchange of blows, with the Iran-backed group aiming to respond to every strike with a similar measure –