A renewed wave of air operations hit positions across Yemen on Tuesday, following cross-border missile and drone strikes launched by Houthi forces into southern Saudi Arabia. The escalation coincides with a sharp deterioration in civilian conditions, with the United Nations reporting that more than 125,000 people have fled their homes since the beginning of September. The aerial bombardment followed formal warnings from the Saudi-led military coalition backing Yemen’s internationally recognized government that it would strike back forcefully.
Humanitarian displacement has accelerated rapidly along the country`s western corridors.
The latest exchanges began after projectiles hit the Saudi cities of Khamis Mushait, Abha, and Taif. Coalition authorities stated that the incoming strikes wounded 13 civilians with minor to moderate injuries while inflicting structural damage on seven residential buildings and two vehicles. Major-General Turki al-Maliki, spokesperson for the joint coalition command, stated that forces would respond responsibly and firmly to ensure the territorial protection of the kingdom.
Relief agencies warned that the return to sustained bombardment is overwhelming emergency support networks. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, at least 18,000 households have been uprooted in less than three weeks as clashes expand across contested front lines. The agency noted that fighting is actively driving civilian casualties, cutting access to basic necessities, and placing extreme logistical pressure on humanitarian workers already operating with depleted stockpiles.
Frontline governorates bore the brunt of the aerial sorties.
Houthi military officials claimed that coalition warplanes conducted 54 separate air strikes within a 24-hour period across Lahj, Taiz, al-Jawf, Marib, and Hajjah governorates. Yahya Saree, the group`s military spokesman, stated that British-made Typhoon and American-built F-15 fighters staging out of airfields in Khamis Mushait and Taif carried out the missions. Strikes reportedly hit an administrative complex in the Khadir district of Taiz, while local reports indicated that three civilians, including two children, were killed in Dhubab and Maqbanah districts.
Houthi officials warned that cross-border operations against Saudi military installations would persist as long as air strikes continue. Saudi government officials have not issued a public statement regarding the reported casualties or specific bombing coordinates inside Yemen, and the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately return requests for comment.
