Saudi Arabia says Houthi attacks wound 73 civilians

• Saudi Arabia says Houthi attacks on civilian and economic sites wounded at least 73 people, including women and children.
• The Houthis say the attacks were retaliation for more than 120 Saudi strikes on Yemen over three days.

Saudi Arabia accused Yemen’s Houthi movement on Tuesday of launching attacks on civilian and economic sites in the southern provinces of Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jizan and Najran, wounding at least 73 civilians, including women and children.

Major-General Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen, described the attacks as a "dangerous escalation" and a "blatant violation" of Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty.

He did not specify when the attacks took place but said the coalition would take "all necessary operational measures" to confront the threat and target its sources.

Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry separately said several energy-sector facilities in southern areas were hit early Tuesday, causing fires and temporarily halting some operations. It said a number of citizens and residents were wounded.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry said Riyadh would take "all necessary measures to defend its sovereignty" and called on the Houthis to halt their attacks.

The Houthis later said their attacks were carried out in response to more than 120 Saudi strikes on Yemen over the previous three days.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had conducted a "large-scale, long-range military operation" using dozens of ballistic missiles and drones.

Houthi-linked media also accused Saudi Arabia of carrying out strikes in Taiz province and said an earlier Saudi air raid on a prison in al-Hazm, in northern al-Jawf province, killed at least seven people. Saudi authorities have not commented on the prison strike allegation.

The escalation comes as Yemen’s Saudi-backed, internationally recognized government launches a counteroffensive against the Houthis, seeking to retake territory and increase pressure on the group.

The conflict began in its current form after the Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention the following year. Fighting largely subsided after a UN-brokered truce in 2022, but hostilities have since resumed amid wider regional tensions.

The latest fighting has spread from areas west of Taiz and south of Hodeidah to al-Dhalea, Marib, al-Jawf and al-Bayda, with government forces seeking to stretch Houthi positions.

The World Health Organization said about 1,078 people had been killed or wounded since August 24, while more than 21,000 people had been displaced since Thursday.

Russia also criticized the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during talks with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan that the attacks were counterproductive and damaging to the global economy, while stressing that the issues should not be resolved through military means.