Fighting escalates in Yemen; Houthi attacks trigger alerts in Saudi Arabia

Yemen war escalates as Houthis launch major offensive and civilians flee

Fighting has escalated across Yemen, with the country’s internationally recognised government blaming the Houthis for an artillery attack that killed three children, while Saudi Arabia accused the Iran-backed group of continuing to strike the kingdom’s infrastructure.

The claims on Wednesday came as the Houthis promised to retaliate for what they said were 54 Saudi airstrikes in a 12-hour span.

The renewed hostilities between the Saudi-backed government forces and the Houthis are unfolding amid intensifying regional tensions set off by the United States and Israel’s war on Iran. Pakistan warned on Tuesday that continued Houthi attacks could trigger the recently signed Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, a mutual security pact involving Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan.

According to the World Health Organization, the clashes have killed or wounded more than 1,000 people and displaced tens of thousands.

On Wednesday, the government-run Saba news reported that at least three children, including a baby, were killed in Houthi shelling in the central Marib governorate. Six others were also wounded in the attack, which Saba said was the second of its kind in 48 hours.

The first assault killed two children and wounded 15 others, it said.

The Houthis did not comment on the claim, but said the death toll from what it said was a Saudi attack on a prison in the northern al-Jawf governorate on Tuesday had climbed to at least 32 people. Some seven others were wounded, the group said.