Houthis escalate pressure with new missile strikes on Saudi Arabia and Aden

The conflict in Yemen has taken a sharper turn with a new series of aggressive strikes directed at both Saudi Arabia and the port city of Aden.

The Yemeni Transport Ministry reported that two ballistic missiles hit Aden International Airport on Saturday. This incident marks the fourth such attack on the facility in the current month. Officials expressed concern that the strikes pose a direct threat to civil aviation safety while also creating economic and humanitarian burdens for citizens who rely on the airport for their travel needs.

Beyond the airport, local authorities indicated that the coastguard headquarters and another nearby building were also hit during the assault. The Houthi group took responsibility for the strikes on the al-Nasr camp and a naval military base in the city. In a related event on Friday, Yemen’s army noted that a Houthi missile malfunctioned and crashed into a family home in Sanaa. This incident, which occurred in a city under Houthi control, resulted in three deaths. The military described this as one of several similar malfunctions observed from the Iran-backed group in recent weeks.

Houthi-controlled Al-Masirah TV claimed on Saturday that Saudi coalition airstrikes killed several civilians in Sanaa and the port city of Hodeidah. While this report has not been independently verified, Riyadh had not issued a formal response to the allegations at the time of writing. Separately, Saudi Arabia’s civil defence agency confirmed on X that two ballistic missiles were launched toward Mecca and Medina. The agency warned of falling shrapnel after intercepting the projectiles, and images released by the Saudi Press Agency appeared to show a large, blackened missile fragment that landed within the kingdom.

Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, described the attacks as heinous in a statement shared on Saturday. He noted that the strikes showed a blatant disregard for the lives and security of civilians. The Houthi group, however, disputed the official narrative regarding their specific targets. They called the claim that they aimed at the holy cities of Mecca and Medina a huge lie, stating instead that they had targeted three Saudi airports, oil infrastructure, and an airbase.

Since a fragile ceasefire agreed upon in 2022 collapsed in July, the Houthis have consistently used long-range strikes to hit Saudi energy sites and airports. This sustained pressure has become a defining feature of the current phase of the conflict. Fighting along Yemen’s front lines remains intense as Houthi forces battle troops from the internationally recognized government for control of key areas.

Colonel Majed Abdullah al-Nazili, a Yemeni army spokesman, said on Saturday that government forces conducted more than 700 targeting operations over the previous 24 hours. He claimed these actions neutralized 300 Houthi fighters and disabled military vehicles, though independent verification of these figures was not available. The spokesman added that the operations focused on field command centers, Houthi gatherings, weapons depots, and supply lines in Taiz, a region where heavy clashes have persisted for days.