Saudi Arabia carries out 32 airstrikes in Yemen, Houthi official says

As fighting between the Iran-backed Houthi rebels and Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces intensified across the country, Saudi Arabia carried out 32 airstrikes overnight across four Yemeni governorates, a Houthi official said Wednesday.

The strikes were aimed at areas in Marib, Al Jawf, Taiz and Al Hudaydah, the Houthi official said, giving no details on casualties or damage. The claims could not be immediately independently confirmed.

The strikes followed a large wave of attacks by the Houthi movement on Saudi Arabia’s southern cities and energy facilities. Saudi authorities said Tuesday the attacks wounded 73 people and damaged civilian and economic sites.

Violence has resurged sharply in Yemen where fighting had largely died down following a 2022 ceasefire. Recent fighting has spread to Taiz and other locations along the Red Sea coast.

Yemen’s internationally recognised government said it carried out recent airstrikes on Houthi positions in Marib, Al Jawf, Taiz and Al Hudaydah.

The escalation could deepen a conflict that has already produced one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises and further destabilise shipping routes around the strategically important Red Sea and Bab el- Mandeb Strait.