At least 73 individuals, including children, sustained injuries due to recent strikes on four cities in Saudi Arabia. Additionally, various oil facilities in the region were targeted during these assaults.
The Houthi movement, which is supported by Iran and controls a significant portion of Yemen, including the capital city of Sanaa, has declared that they have initiated operations deep within Saudi territory. This includes the use of drones and missiles to strike a military base in Khamis Mushait, a city in southern Saudi Arabia. The Houthis also claimed responsibility for attacks on locations associated with Saudi Arabia’s state oil company in Abha, as well as in Najran, which is on the border with Yemen, and Jazan, a key port city on the Red Sea that is home to a large refinery and power facility.
This escalation marks a significant intensification of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which has now entered its sixth month. The high number of injuries indicates that these attacks may represent one of the most substantial assaults on Saudi Arabia since the onset of the U.S. and Israeli campaign against Iran in February.
Saudi officials confirmed that among those injured in the attacks were women and children. Satellite images from NASA captured dark smoke rising above the Jazan refinery and white smoke from an oil distribution center in Abha.
While confirmed images showing the aftermath of the strikes were not immediately available, Houthi media released visuals depicting thick smoke and explosions from what they claimed were Saudi trucks targeted in separate assaults at the border on Monday.
On the same day, Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree accused Riyadh of escalating the conflict through airstrikes in Yemen, asserting that the Houthis would respond accordingly. In contrast, Turki al-Malki, spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition, stated that all necessary operational measures would be taken to confront the “terrorist militia” and its aggressive tactics.
The assaults on Tuesday targeted Saudi oil facilities that are linked to an alternative route to the Strait of Hormuz, specifically the Bab el-Mandeb, a crucial waterway located at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.
According to the International Organization for Migration, over 18,500 individuals have been displaced from their homes due to intensified fighting along Yemen’s western coastline in the past three days.
The renewed Houthi strikes in southwestern Saudi Arabia threaten to exacerbate the war’s economic ramifications globally by disrupting energy supplies from the Middle East, extending beyond the already blockaded Strait of Hormuz. Following these latest attacks, global oil prices have seen an uptick, moving closer to the highs observed during the war’s peak. On Tuesday, Brent crude oil prices reached $99.46, the highest level since mid-July, although they experienced a slight decrease later in the day.
In response to the situation, Washington is working to enhance oil supply to international markets by facilitating the passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz while simultaneously imposing a blockade to curtail Iran’s oil exports. In a retaliatory move, Tehran announced plans to establish a “maritime exclusion zone” which will extend from the area surrounding the U.S. blockade through the strait and into the Gulf.
