Saudi Arabia Condemns Houthi Attacks That Injured 73 Civilians

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has strongly condemned Houthi missile and drone attacks on four southern cities Tuesday, after reporting that 73 civilians were injured following the Yemeni group’s attacks.

Earlier Tuesday, Saudi Arabia announced that the attacks targeted civilian and economic establishments in the cities of Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan, and Najran. Several fires were reported in energy facilities and utilities, forcing them to suspend their operations, the country’s Energy Ministry reported through Xinhua news agency.

In a statement Tuesday, the Saudi Foreign Ministry condemned the “terrorist Houthi militia’s attack on civilian and economic establishments” in the four cities. The statement further revealed that some of those injured included women and children.

Military spokesperson of the Houthis, Yahya Sarea, said in a televised statement from the Houthi-controlled al-Masirah TV that his forces had launched dozens of missiles and drones. According to Sarea, targets included Saudi Aramco facilities in Abha, Najran, and Jazan, Jazan City for Primary and Downstream Industries, and King Khalid Air Base near Khamis Mushait.

The spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition, Turki al-Malki, has described these attacks as “a dangerous escalation”. The coalition will take steps to deter such attacks.

a dangerous escalation — Turki al-Malki, Saudi-led coalition spokesperson

The statement issued by the Foreign Ministry reiterated the right of the Kingdom to take all necessary measures in defense of its sovereignty and protection of its citizens and residents. This statement says that the Kingdom shall not tolerate any attack on its territory and national assets, in accordance with the principles of international law.

In the same statement, the Ministry condemned the continued attacks of the militia on commercial ships in the Red Sea, its threats to the freedom of international maritime navigation, without providing more details about the incident. It accuses the group of rejecting peace efforts and posing a threat to the security and stability of Yemen. It urged the international community to implement relevant UN Security Council resolutions, including Resolution 2216 of 2015 and Resolution 2722 of 2024.

Yahya Sarea related the operation on Tuesday to what he called a sharp escalation of Saudi military activities in Yemen, citing 121 airstrikes on Houthi areas during three days. Sarea referred to an airstrike carried out on Monday on a prison in the city of Al-Hazm, the capital of the northern province of Al-Jawf. This strike caused victims among prisoners and visitors, according to the Houthi authorities.

The Houthi spokesman said that the group would continue launching operations “deep inside Saudi Arabia” against troop concentrations and warned of “stronger and wider strikes” should the Saudi operations continue in Yemen.

This attack was part of an intensifying conflict inside Yemen where Saudi-backed government forces are battling Houthi forces in Taiz, Hodeidah, and Al-Jawf provinces. Government forces launched a major offensive Monday in Al-Jawf province, while fighting was still going on in western Yemen.

UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, described the renewed fighting as an “extremely alarming development” on Monday and urged all parties to stop hostilities and exercise maximum restraint.