Yemen's internationally recognized government military claims to have killed hundreds of Houthi fighters in targeted strikes over the past 24 hours, amid escalating fighting on multiple fronts.
Colonel Majed Abdullah al-Nazili, a spokesman for Yemeni government forces, said at least 1,150 Houthi fighters were killed in nearly 2,000 strikes across the country as part of an operation named "Yemen's Dawn."
According to al-Nazili, the military destroyed Houthi ammunition depots and at least 180 combat, transport and supply vehicles operated by the group, adding that ground forces "continue to press the offensive."
Al Jazeera could not independently verify these claims.
The developments follow an attack on King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Saturday that killed and wounded several people and led to the cancellation of multiple flights.
Asked whether the United States would join airstrikes targeting the Houthis after the attack, President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that he would "make a decision soon."
Al Jazeera correspondent Yousef Mawry, reporting from Yemen on Saturday, said the Houthis have not yet claimed responsibility for the latest attack.
However, the Iran-backed armed group has warned airlines to avoid Saudi airspace, declaring that any aircraft operating there – except flights to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina – would be a target.
According to Mawry, the Houthis are preparing for the possibility of fighting on multiple fronts, including confronting the involvement of international parties such as Pakistan.
"The Houthis say that if Pakistan takes part in any military operations against them on behalf of Saudi Arabia, then Pakistan will be treated the same way Saudi Arabia is now," Mawry said.
He added that there are plans to launch ballistic missiles at Pakistan and to attack Pakistani-flagged vessels in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.
"The fighting is spreading across multiple fronts, and this is a situation that will continue to escalate," Baraa Shiban, a Yemen expert and associate fellow on international security at the London-based think tank the Royal United Services Institute, told Al Jazeera, adding that the violence is unlikely to "cool down" soon.
"This time there is no mediation process – no regional or local mediator capable of calming the situation," he said.
Saudi-backed Yemeni forces are advancing against the Houthis with the aim of retaking areas around the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a key shipping route for global trade entering and leaving the Red Sea.
Fighting is currently intense around two strategic southern Yemeni cities, Mocha and Dhubab, which lie on the Red Sea coast and are important for control of Bab al-Mandeb.
The Houthis, who have controlled Sanaa and parts of northwestern Yemen since 2014, seized the area in September, effectively gaining control of the strait, although both sides claim control of the shipping lanes.
