Yemen’s war has intensified after Houthi forces seized ground along the Red Sea coast and near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, prompting Saudi-backed government forces to launch a counteroffensive. The fighting has displaced more than 233,000 people, with Taiz province accounting for about 121,000 of them.
The escalation has also reached Saudi Arabia. Initial findings indicated that drones preceded cruise and ballistic missiles, complicating interception.
The attacks have struck more than airports. Aramco facilities and other infrastructure have also been targeted, while Saudi-led forces have carried out new strikes in Houthi-held areas of Yemen. Houthi authorities reported civilian casualties in al-Jawf and Sanaa, though those figures have not been independently confirmed. Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said the kingdom’s response would be equally serious.
Iranian and allied networks are described as having provided expertise and components, while the Houthis have developed the capacity to manufacture much of their arsenal inside Yemen. Iran denies arming the group, which would violate a United Nations arms embargo, but weapons and parts linked to Iran have previously been seized in shipments bound for Yemen.
The Houthis took Sanaa in 2014, and Saudi Arabia entered the war the following year to support Yemen’s internationally recognised government. The current battlefield shifted again after the Houthis gained territory near the Bab el-Mandeb, a major maritime chokepoint.
Regional governments have responded with wider security coordination. The Gulf Cooperation Council condemned the attacks, invoked its joint-defence framework and called for stricter enforcement of the arms embargo. Egypt agreed to provide support to Saudi Arabia, while Iran said it was ready to help facilitate talks between the parties. The United States has shared intelligence and planning support with Saudi Arabia but has so far avoided directly striking the Houthis, even as President Donald Trump said further action was under consideration.
The conflict is also worsening conditions inside Yemen. Taiz hospitals have reported critically low fuel, oxygen, medicines and surgical supplies, while food shortages and sharply higher prices have followed disrupted supply routes. The combination of Houthi control near a strategic sea passage, attacks deep inside Saudi Arabia and competing regional military responses has turned the renewed fighting into a broader security crisis, with no confirmed settlement in sight.