Yemen Conflict Escalates as Houthis Strike Saudi Airports and Oil Facilities

Fighting between Yemen's Saudi-backed government forces and the Iran-backed Houthi group is escalating along the western Red Sea coast, alongside increasingly expansive Houthi strikes targeting Saudi oil facilities and airports.

On Thursday, forces loyal to Yemen's government said they intercepted a drone heading toward Medina and a missile fired toward Riyadh, amid intensifying clashes with the Houthis.

A day earlier, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group's forces had carried out "a high-quality military operation targeting Aramco in Dhahran," along with strikes on Riyadh airport and an oil refinery in the capital. He declared the operations "will continue in the coming days, targeting the airports and oil facilities of the Saudi enemy."

A Saudi Energy Ministry official confirmed a building belonging to Aramco in Dhahran was hit, causing a "limited fire" but "no casualties." Dhahran is home to Aramco's headquarters, a sprawling complex of buildings and residential areas.

Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition carried out airstrikes targeting Houthi strongholds in Yemen's capital Sanaa, which the group has held since 2014. The coalition had fought the Houthis until a 2022 ceasefire was reached, but the truce has collapsed in recent months.

Al Jazeera correspondent Yousef Mawry, reporting from Sanaa, described the war as a cycle of tit-for-tat reprisals. The Iran-backed group "will continue to carry out these airstrikes... the objective is fire for fire — airstrikes in response to airstrikes, capital for capital, airport for airport, energy facility for energy facility."

What targets has the Houthi group hit in Saudi Arabia?

The Houthis' recent strikes on Saudi Arabia have mainly targeted key infrastructure on the outskirts of Riyadh, but they appear to be edging closer to the city center.

Houthi attacks on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport last weekend killed 14 people and wounded more than 300 others. The Houthis are also believed to have struck other airports, including Abha International Airport in southern Saudi Arabia, killing two people, as well as Aramco energy facilities.

Authorities said Riyadh airport would remain closed at least until Saturday as numerous airlines canceled flights, leaving the kingdom's capital skies deserted.

According to correspondent Mawry, Saudi Arabia "has more to lose" from reprisals that disrupt air traffic, since Sanaa International Airport has been closed for years due to damage sustained during the civil war, and no Yemeni airlines currently operate there.

Moreover, by undermining security, the Houthis are signaling that Saudi Arabia will face mounting economic costs for its involvement in Yemen. Earlier this year, the Houthis also began attacking Saudi-linked cargo ships in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait — the gateway to the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia has grown increasingly dependent on this shipping route for oil exports since Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz in March.

The kingdom is scheduled to host a major investment conference in Riyadh later this month, billed as a "Davos in the desert," but it remains unclear whether the event will go ahead amid the ongoing strikes. Organizers of the Six Kings Slam tennis tournament, due to begin next week in Riyadh, have announced it will be postponed to December. Saudi Arabia is also preparing to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup.

Al Jazeera correspondent Zein Basravi, reporting from Doha, said the Houthis' military blows are meant to apply pressure while triggering knock-on economic effects. "The Gulf Cooperation Council has become the venue for massive events over the past year, and if this continues, the international impact on the global economy will continue to be negative," he said.

What is the situation on the ground in Yemen?

Yemeni government forces are currently carrying out a major counteroffensive called "Yemen's Dawn" aimed at retaking coastal territory the Houthis have seized in recent weeks near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait — a key maritime trade chokepoint.

Saudi Arabia's cabinet, in a meeting chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week, pledged that it "will not allow the security or freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait to be threatened."

On Wednesday, Yemeni government forces said they had carried out 2,309 "targeted operations" against the Houthis as part of "Yemen's Dawn." Their spokesman, Majeed al-Nuzaili, said the operations used fighter jets, drones, artillery and rocket launchers, destroying 460 Houthi military vehicles.

Government forces said they had retaken areas in Sabr al-Mawadim and al-Sarari in Taiz province, and repelled a major Houthi attack west of Taiz city — a government-held city that was besieged by the Houthis earlier this month. Taiz province includes the western coastal plain on the Red Sea, home to the port city of Mocha and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait; most of the province lies in Yemen's highlands, with the provincial capital Taiz nestled among mountain ranges.

Correspondent Mawry said fighting in the area is fierce because of its strategic value. "Whoever controls the high ground and the mountain ranges controls the entire terrain, controls the Red Sea coastlines and the city of Taiz itself," he said.

Yemen's internationally recognized government is calling for reinforcements as well as Saudi airstrikes on newly seized Houthi positions, mainly in al-Misrakh district, south of Taiz, and at-Turbah district — gateways into Taiz city.

According to Mawry, airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition are forcing the Houthis to retreat, enabling government forces to advance, but they have not yet been able to fully control some positions. "Then another military counterattack by Ansar Allah takes place to retake the area. This is the kind of back-and-forth we have seen since early September," he said.

The Houthi siege of Taiz has caused civilian casualties and severe shortages of fuel, gas and other supplies. On Wednesday, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) reported that flour stocks were nearly exhausted.

The Red Cross said frontline hospitals in areas including Marib, Taiz and Yemen's Red Sea coast are recording unprecedented numbers of weapon-wounded patients, with some facilities receiving more than 700 injuries in a single week.