Houthis say air strikes hit Yemen after Saudi Arabia vows ‘firm’ response

What the report says

Yemen’s Houthi movement has accused Saudi Arabia of carrying out dozens of air raids across several Yemeni provinces after the Saudi-led coalition said it would respond “firmly” to Houthi missile and drone attacks on cities inside the kingdom. According to Al Jazeera’s report, the coalition said the earlier Houthi strikes wounded 13 civilians in Khamis Mushait, Abha and Taif and damaged homes and vehicles.

The coalition, which supports Yemen’s internationally recognised government, said its response would be aimed at protecting Saudi sovereignty. The Houthis later claimed Saudi warplanes struck areas in Lahj, Taiz, al-Jawf, Marib and Hajjah over a 24-hour period, and said one of the attacks hit the government complex in Khadir district in Taiz. Houthi media alleged civilian deaths and injuries in Taiz province, though Al Jazeera said it could not independently verify battlefield claims.

The exchange follows a recent escalation in cross-border fighting between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, including Houthi claims that they fired missiles and drones at a Saudi airbase in retaliation for earlier air raids. The report also places the clashes in the wider context of Yemen’s long-running war and the Houthis’ advancing control along parts of the Red Sea coast, including areas near the strategically important Bab al-Mandeb strait. Saudi Arabia had not publicly commented on the Houthi allegations at the time of publication.