Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi forces exchanged fresh strikes on Thursday as fighting intensified along the two countries’ border, while thousands of Yemenis continued to flee the conflict amid growing concerns over regional security and global oil supplies.
Houthi-controlled television reported fresh Saudi airstrikes on Thursday in Yemen’s Hajjah province, near the Saudi border and Red Sea coast, as well as around Taiz further south. Houthi media also reported that Saudi strikes targeted telecommunications towers in Taiz province.
Saudi civil defence authorities, meanwhile, said a Yemeni resident was killed after debris from a Houthi drone intercepted over the western Saudi city of Taif fell to the ground. The incident also caused injuries and property damage, according to Saudi authorities.
The death was the first publicly reported fatality in Saudi Arabia since the latest wave of Houthi attacks intensified. Riyadh has previously reported more than 80 people wounded in the attacks.
READ RELATED NEWS
Saudi Arabia intercepts drone near Mecca, blames houthi movement
Oil prices climb amid Saudi pipeline disruption and fresh attacks
Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi called on Saudi Arabia to end its military actions against Yemen, saying, “We want the Saudis to cease their blockade and occupation of our country, and to stop their aggression against us. This is our demand!” He made the remarks in a televised speech.
The Houthis have also continued launching missiles and drones toward Saudi targets. The group has claimed that Saudi aircraft have carried out hundreds of strikes against positions in Yemen in recent days, although individual claims from the two sides cannot be independently verified.
The renewed fighting has also triggered a growing humanitarian crisis in Yemen. Reuters reported that more than 100,000 people have been displaced by the latest fighting, with some civilians fleeing by small boats across the Red Sea to Djibouti.
Wahida Omer, 50, was among those who reached Djibouti after escaping from Yemen’s Red Sea coast. She told the International Organization for Migration that she had fled after the fighting reached her village of Dhubab, while her husband remained behind, with no idea whether he was alive or dead.
The escalation follows a rapid Houthi advance along Yemen’s Red Sea coastline, including territory around the strategically important Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The waterway connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and is a major route for international shipping and energy supplies.
The fighting is taking place against the backdrop of a wider Middle East conflict that has already disrupted oil shipments and increased pressure on global energy markets. Reuters reported that the expansion of the conflict into Yemen and Saudi Arabia has created additional risks for global oil supplies.
US President Donald Trump has so far declined Saudi requests for direct American military support against the Houthis. He said on Wednesday that he hoped the broader war involving Iran was approaching an end, although no new US-Iran negotiations have been held since an interim agreement reached in June collapsed.
The latest Saudi-Houthi exchanges therefore mark another escalation in a conflict that is threatening both civilians in Yemen and a strategically important maritime corridor, while raising further concerns about the security of regional energy supplies.
