Saudi Arabia vows to respond after Houthi attack cities and energy facilities
Yemen’s Iran‑backed Houthi movement said it hit energy facilities and other civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia with dozens of drones and missiles, injuring 73 people, according to Saudi authorities.
The attacks struck four southwestern cities—Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran—creating fires at oil facilities and temporarily halting operations, the Saudi military and energy ministry reported.
Saudi‑led coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki Al‑Maliki described the assaults as a "dangerous escalation" and pledged to take all necessary operational measures to deter the militants.
The Houthis justified their strikes as retaliation for Saudi air strikes on Yemen’s north‑western provinces. On Monday they also accused Saudi Arabia of bombing a prison in al‑Hazm and killing at least 11 inmates, with twenty people missing under the rubble.
The Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea blamed Saudi forces for over 120 air strikes on the Yemeni provinces of Marib, al‑Bayda, Hudaydah, Taiz and Jawf in the past three days, calling the attacks "grave crimes".
The conflict between the Saudi‑led coalition and the Houthis has persisted for more than a decade. A four‑year informal ceasefire unraveled in July when the Houthis imposed a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia and began missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers in the Red Sea.
Since then, fighting along Yemen’s south‑western coast has escalated, with over 300 casualties and 18,500 displaced as the Houthis push to seize the Bab al‑Mandab Strait, a key shipping lane for Saudi oil.
The Red Sea’s strategic importance has grown amid the U.S. and Israel’s conflict with Iran, which has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, heightening tensions around oil transport routes.
