Yemeni government forces launched hundreds of airstrikes against Houthi-held strongholds in Sanaa and Saada, reporting casualties as ground clashes intensified around the contested strategic city of Taiz. The renewed military escalation follows months of border attacks and a Houthi naval blockade that shattered a 2022 truce.
Military operations escalated sharply across Yemen as internationally recognized government forces and allied coalition strikes hit targets in the capital Sanaa and the northern stronghold of Saada. Colonel Majed Abdullah al-Nazili, the spokesman for Yemen’s government forces, stated that the military executed 257 precision targeting operations utilizing warplanes, drones, artillery, missiles, and rocket launchers. Initial military estimates indicate that the barrage destroyed high-value targets, including 170 combat vehicles and heavy equipment, while driving casualties among Houthi fighters.
The intensity of the aerial campaign drew conflicting accounts from the ground. Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported that Saudi Arabia carried out an attack on Sanaa, with affiliate broadcasts tallying dozens of strikes on the capital and surrounding telecommunications infrastructure. Government-aligned forces, meanwhile, reported intercepting and shooting down Houthi explosive-laden drones over the interim capital of Aden.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarie claimed that Saudi Arabia had carried out 94 airstrikes in Yemen over a 24-hour period using fighter jets and missiles against civilian sites across Sana’a, Saada, Taiz, Hajjah, Amran, and Al Bayda provinces, placing the total number of Saudi strikes since the escalation began at 1,350. Sarie further alleged that the strikes resulted in civilian deaths and injuries. Meanwhile, a Sana’a military source told Lebanese outlet Al Akhbar that Saudi airstrikes targeted Yemeni bridges and civilian infrastructure while falsely framing them as missile launch platforms, denouncing the practice as utter bankruptcy. In response, a Houthi military source quoted by the Saba news agency denied Saudi accusations of targeting a power distribution station in Medina or a previous claim regarding Mecca, calling those allegations fabrications intended to cover up Saudi military failures. On the other side, the Saudi-led coalition reported intercepting and destroying three ballistic missiles launched toward the southern Saudi city of Khamis Mushait.
Intense Ground Battles and Casualties Around Taiz
The ground war is centered heavily on Taiz, Yemen’s city, which has withstood a multi-year siege. Government figures reported that military operations across multiple fronts killed or wounded 1,540 Houthi fighters in a single 24-hour window, following hundreds of separate engagements and raids. Fighting concentrated on the city’s western outskirts and northern approaches, where residents reported artillery fire on a scale unseen in more than a decade.
Amid the heavy fighting, government forces secured the Samaa fort southeast of Taiz after violent clashes alongside local popular resistance fighters. Security concerns also prompted the military to close the al-Houban crossing, a vital road connecting Houthi-held territory with the government-controlled city, following an attempted infiltration and increased Houthi military buildup. The crossing, which had remained shut for nine years before reopening to civilians in 2024 for humanitarian reasons according to a military spokesperson, was shut down once more to prevent rebel forces from advancing toward strategic highland roads and positions.
“The intensity of the fighting [now] is very similar to what Taiz faced in 2015, and of course that brings the worry in relation to civilian harm, killings and injuries.”
Dina El Mamoun, Yemen director for Civic
Describing the severe operational hurdles facing the insurgent group, Ahmed Nagi, a Yemen expert at the Crisis Group, told The National that taking the city will prove exceptionally difficult due to local civilian resistance and enduring loyalties. In addition to active military operations on the ground, the Yemeni army’s media official Ammar al-Sami’i detailed the tactical importance of maintaining control over the contested governorate against persistent rebel attempts to capture the region.
Strategic Red Sea Stakes and Broader Regional Spillover
The renewed hostilities represent the most serious breakdown of the conflict since a United Nations-brokered truce took effect in April 2022. Fighting reignited after the Houthis declared a naval blockade in July and advanced along the Red Sea coast near the Bab al-Mandab Strait. Analysts emphasize that capturing Taiz would grant the group unchallenged control over northern Yemen and tighter leverage over vital maritime shipping lanes.
Regional and international friction continues to mount alongside the domestic conflict. G7 leaders condemned indiscriminate missile and drone attacks targeting neighbouring sovereign territory, while the Pentagon deployed an additional aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf. In Saudi Arabia, emergency responders battled a fire at a state-owned Aramco energy facility south of Riyadh following reported cross-border projectile fire, while the Saudi-led coalition reported intercepting ballistic missiles over Khamis Mushait.
Against this backdrop of escalating regional friction, diplomatic maneuverings intensified. Axios reported that US President Donald Trump’s top cabinet members held a secret meeting at the presidential retreat at Camp David to discuss the Saudi-Houthi conflict and the next steps regarding the broader war with Iran. Simultaneously, during the United Nations General Assembly annual session in New York, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi discussed diplomatic proposals in private meetings with European and West Asian diplomats.
Displacement Crisis Deepens Across Vulnerable Populations
According to Yemen’s Executive Unit for Internally Displaced Persons Camps Management, at least 198,000 people have been displaced by the recent hostilities.
