Saudi Arabia Promises Firm Response After Houthi Missile and Drone Attacks Wound Civilians

Saudi Arabia’s coalition fighting in Yemen promised to respond “firmly” to missile and drone attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthi group that wounded 13 civilians across three cities in the kingdom, with the coalition saying Houthi attacks on Khamis Mushait, Abha and Taif caused minor to moderate injuries and damaged seven homes and two vehicles.

“promised to respond “firmly” to missile and drone attacks”

Al Jazeera

Coalition spokesperson Major-General Turki al-Maliki said, “The Joint Forces Command of the Coalition will deal with these attacks responsibly and firmly to protect the sovereignty of the kingdom,” as the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned that hostilities in Yemen have displaced at least 18,000 households, or 125,000 people, since the start of the month.

Late on Monday, the Houthis said Saudi Arabia launched 54 air raids across the governorates of Lahj, Taiz, al-Jawf, Marib and Hajjah in the past 24 hours, and the group said Saudi air strikes hit the government complex in Khadir district, Taiz governorate, causing injuries.

In the same exchange of claims, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said F-15 and Typhoon fighter jets operating from Saudi airbases in Khamis Mushait and Taif were used in the strikes and threatened retaliation, while Al Jazeera reported it could not independently verify battlefield claims.A

The escalation also followed the Houthis’ rapid advance on the ground in western Yemen last week, with the group gaining control over much of Yemen’s Red Sea coast and advancing to areas adjacent to the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a waterway for energy and commercial shipping.

Yemeni government forces said Monday they shot down three Houthi drones in Taiz and Shabwa provinces while warplanes struck the group’s positions and military assets in western Taiz, with the government-aligned Giants Brigades saying one Houthi drone was downed on the Kahbub front near Bab el-Mandeb and two FPV attack drones were intercepted in Bayhan before reaching their targets.

The Anadolu Ajansı report added that Yemen’s military-run September Net website said airstrikes hit Houthi positions, gatherings and vehicles around Mokha and Al-Barh Bridge in western Taiz, and it said no casualties or damage were reported.

Al Jazeera

In parallel, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said Saudi warplanes carried out 54 strikes across Taiz, Lahj, Al-Jawf, Marib and Hajjah provinces over the previous 24 hours, and he said F-15 and Typhoon fighter jets operating from Saudi airbases in Khamis Mushait and Taif were used in the strikes and threatened retaliation.

Anadolu Ajansı said Saudi authorities had not immediately commented on the claim, while the Houthis had not responded to the government forces’ account.

The same Al Jazeera reporting described the Houthis as also known as Ansar Allah and said the group threatened retaliation after the Saudi-led coalition’s response, while Anadolu Ajansı framed the escalation as coming after early July confrontations between Yemen’s internationally recognized government forces and the Houthis.A

The conflict’s stakes extended beyond battlefield claims, with Al Jazeera reporting that OCHA warned hostilities in Yemen have displaced at least 18,000 households, or 125,000 people, since the start of the month and that the fighting is forcing people to flee their homes, driving civilian casualties, and putting already stretched humanitarian operations under growing pressure.A

“displaced at least 18,000 households – or 125,000 people”

Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera also reported that Houthi and Yemeni government officials said the Houthis seized the Greater and Lesser Hanish islands in the southern Red Sea, about 160km (100 miles) north of Bab al-Mandeb, and that their recent advances also include Mayyun Island, at the mouth of the Red Sea.A

Anadolu Ajansı described how confrontations between Yemen’s internationally recognized government forces and the Houthis have escalated since early July, following years of relative calm, and it said the country has been engulfed in war since the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and several provinces in 2014 before a Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened in 2015.

In the same Al Jazeera account, Yemen’s internationally recognized government said on Monday that its forces made advances in the contested Taiz province after retaking positions from the Houthis, and it said it had struck the group’s fighters and equipment in Dhubab and al-Khokha on the Red Sea coast.A

With the Red Sea coast and Bab al-Mandeb strait central to the exchange, Al Jazeera said the strait has become a vital waterway for energy and commercial shipping in the region as the United States-Iran war has caused major disruption to the Strait of Hormuz.A