The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen has carried out a targeted military operation against the Houthi movement in the Red Sea province of Hudaida, destroying naval weapons depots and thwarting planned attacks on international shipping lanes.
Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki confirmed on X that naval units struck Houthi military targets along the coastline, stating that forces "destroyed weapons depots, facilities storing booby-trapped boats and naval mines".
Al-Maliki added that the operation successfully "thwarted a plot for imminent attacks targeting waterways in the southern Red Sea".
The strikes formed part of an escalating multi-front assault.
The Yemeni military announced it launched an offensive to recapture the Houthi-held capital, Sanaa, conducting over 1,000 strikes, while the coalition confirmed 100 warplanes flew dawn sorties across the country.
The internationally recognised government declared on Sunday an overarching objective to recover all Houthi-administered territories, which house the majority of Yemen's population.
Bab al Mandab flashpoint
In an urgent statement, Houthi forces claimed sweeping retaliatory strikes against critical infrastructure inside Saudi Arabia.
The group said it launched drones and ballistic missiles targeting Riyadh airport, the Aramco oil refinery in Rabigh, Abha Airport, the Khamis Mushait airbase, Najran, and the Akfa military camp in Asir.
The sharp escalation follows severe territorial shifts last month, when Iran-aligned Houthi fighters seized broad swathes of Red Sea coastline and strategic positions overseeing the Bab al Mandab Strait—a vital chokepoint for international crude and commercial shipping—triggering the deadliest fighting witnessed in Yemen for years.
