Yemen Fighting Escalates, Five Killed as Houthis, Saudi Arabia Trade Strikes

Attacks attributed to the Houthis, the Yemeni government, and Saudi Arabia killed at least five people on Thursday as fighting intensified across the Arabian Peninsula.

A Yemeni national was killed and a Saudi woman and a Pakistani resident were injured in Saudi Arabia's Taif governorate by debris from an intercepted Houthi drone. This marks the first reported death in Saudi Arabia since the recent fighting flared. The Houthis reported one civilian killed and another injured in Saudi strikes on Taiz province and the town of Abs. A Houthi-backed outlet also reported that three children were killed and several Yemeni nationals were injured in strikes by Saudi-backed mercenaries.

Saudi Arabia accused the Houthis of firing at the holy city of Mecca this week, a claim the Houthis denied. The Houthis have made lightning gains in a fresh offensive, seizing control of strategic coastal areas and islands overlooking the Red Sea's Bab el-Mandeb Strait. This advance gives the Iran-backed group potential control over traffic through the vital waterway, which carried roughly 7% of global oil supplies by June.

The escalation follows the collapse of a 2022 ceasefire in the Yemeni civil war. President Donald Trump stated the US is hopefully nearing the end of its nearly seven-month war with Iran, as the conflict expands into Yemen. Trump plans to meet Gulf leaders, including Saudi Arabia, at the United Nations General Assembly next Tuesday to discuss a postwar strategy.

Saudi Arabia is seeking international support for air defense after the US declined its request to intervene militarily against the Houthis. Riyadh is reportedly running low on missile interceptors. Pakistan's army chief urged Iran to persuade the Houthis not to target Saudi energy facilities during a phone call with a top Iranian diplomat on Wednesday.

Iranian-backed militias from Iraq struck Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline on September 10, forcing its closure. A Western observer suggested Saudi Arabia's request for help from Israel presents an opportunity for tangible returns. The Houthis claimed to have shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet over Yemen’s Marib Governorate using a locally manufactured surface-to-air missile.