Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan has warned that the kingdom will not hesitate to defend itself after attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels that injured dozens of civilians, including women and children.
The Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen's internationally recognised government said on Tuesday that at least 73 civilians were wounded in the latest escalation by the Iran-aligned militia.
Saudi Arabia said the Yemeni rebels attacked energy sector sites in the kingdom's south, sparking fires, causing injuries and halting operations.
The Houthis attacked civilian and economic sites in four cities, coalition spokesman Maj Gen Turki Al Malki said. “The attacks by the terrorist Houthi militia – the latest of which targeted civilian and economic sites in the cities of Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran – resulted in the injury of 73 civilians, including women and children,” he said.
It was unclear from the statement when all of the attacks took place, but a Yemeni security official told The National that one ballistic missile and one drone were launched from Saada in northern Yemen towards the kingdom on Monday, while the Saudi Energy Ministry said attacks took place on Tuesday morning, also causing injuries. Efforts were under way to contain the blazes.
Prince Faisal described the attacks as part of "a series of provocations" by the Houthis and accused the group of putting their “narrow interests” ahead of those of the Yemeni people.
“We will always support peace and diplomatic solutions, but we will not hesitate to defend ourselves and we will not hesitate to protect our interests,” Prince Faisal said during a press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow.
The attacks drove up oil prices, with Brent crude approaching $100 a barrel, as energy shipments remain restricted due to the war the US and Israel launched on Iran in February.
The Houthis said they struck Saudi Aramco facilities in Abha, Jazan, Najran and the Economic City, along with King Khalid airbase in Khamis Mushait, using "dozens" of ballistic missiles and drones. They said it was a response to Saudi-led strikes on Bayda, Hodeidah, Jawf, Marib and Taiz this week, and vowed further "harsher and wider" strikes unless they stopped.
The Energy Ministry said Tuesday's attacks caused injuries of “varying severity among a number of citizens” and resulted in fires at “a number of sites, leading to the temporary suspension of some operational activities”.
The Foreign Ministry denounced the latest attacks as well as the “continued targeting of commercial vessels in the Red Sea” by the Houthis.
Condemnations also poured in from the kingdom's Gulf Arab neighbours and beyond, including Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar. The UAE said the attacks were a "flagrant violation" of Saudi sovereign territory. Gulf Co-operation Council Secretary General Jasem Al Budaiwi said: “These repeated attacks once again reveal the malicious intentions of the Houthi group."
Pakistan, which has a joint defence pact with Saudi Arabia, expressed “unwavering solidarity” with the kingdom, saying the Houthi attacks "threaten innocent lives as well as regional peace and security".
"We reaffirm our steadfast support for the kingdom’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, and pray for the swift recovery of all those injured,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said.
The attacks come less than a month after an attack by Houthi rebels wounded 11 civilians in Saudi Arabia's southern Najran province. On August 6, seven Saudis, including a woman and a four-year-old child, as well as one Yemeni, two Egyptians and one Pakistani national were injured, according to the coalition. The child suffered second-degree burns.
Airport attack
The Houthis have intensified attacks against Saudi Arabia amid a wider escalation involving Iran-aligned armed groups in the region. The group has claimed attacks against Saudi military and infrastructure targets, including a reported attack on Najran airport.
The latest Saudi statements did not provide details on the weapons used in the attacks or specify the extent of damage to the sites targeted. The Houthi movement had not immediately commented on the coalition's latest casualty figure.
The International Committee of the Red Cross warned on Tuesday that the escalation of hostilities in Yemen and Saudi Arabia risked a further expansion of conflict in the region that could worsen the already devastating humanitarian situation faced by millions of people.
"If the fighting continues, we fear it will lead to more deaths and injuries, population displacement and a potentially catastrophic disruption of essential services and infrastructure such as health care, water, fuel and electricity," ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said.
Saudi Arabia backs Yemen's internationally recognised government, while the Houthis control the capital, Sanaa, and large parts of the country. A truce that significantly reduced fighting between the sides took effect in 2022, but tensions have risen sharply in recent weeks.
On Monday, the Financial Times said Saudi Aramco's Jazan oil facilities were hit in new strikes and that damage was being assessed. The Saudi oil company has not commented.
The escalation comes amid renewed fighting inside Yemen.
On Saturday, at least four civilians were killed and nine others injured in a Houthi ballistic missile attack on the Haijat Al Abd highway linking Taiz with southern Yemen, state news agency Saba reported. Pro-government forces also launched a counter-attack in southern Hodeidah's Al Garrahi district as fighting remained intense.
The renewed fighting along Yemen's western coast has displaced about 18,500 people in Taiz and Hodeidah since hostilities escalated on Thursday, according to the International Organisation for Migration, government authorities and humanitarian partners. The number has continued to rise as families have fled to host communities and displacement sites.
On Monday, the IOM said communities in southern Taiz and the west coast were under growing pressure, while clashes and telecommunications disruptions were hampering efforts to reach and register newly displaced families. Emergency stocks of food, shelter and household items were also severely depleted.
“Families are arriving with nothing: no shelter, no food, no way to know if it's safe to go back,” said Abdusattor Esoev, IOM's chief of mission in Yemen. The UN agency said 663 households had so far received essential household items, and called for safe passage for civilians fleeing the fighting and unimpeded humanitarian access.
Yemen's Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour also called for urgent humanitarian support. The ministry said attacks on residential areas and displacement camps in Taiz and Hodeidah had further increased pressure on vulnerable communities.
The escalation comes as the conflict in Yemen becomes increasingly intertwined with the wider regional confrontation involving Iran and its allies. Saudi Arabia has sought to strengthen its defences and security partnerships as Houthi attacks have expanded beyond Yemen.
More than 22 million people require humanitarian assistance in Yemen, while 5.2 million are internally displaced and 18.3 million are acutely food-insecure, according to UN data from March.
