The Houthis claim to have attacked Saudi Arabia as Yemeni government forces advance in Taiz.

As fighting escalates, armed troops associated with Yemen’s internationally recognised government have taken back locations from the Houthis and are moving forward in the southwest Taiz region. The Houthis, also called Ansar Allah (supporters of God), claimed in a statement on Monday that they used dozens of ballistic missiles and drones to attack sites in Saudi Arabia.

The strikes, according to the group, were directed at “military facilities and infrastructure, including aircraft hangars, radar installations, runways, ammunition depots and other targets at King Khalid airbase in Khamis Mushait, Saudi Arabia.“

It claimed that the attacks were a reaction to a five-day Saudi offensive that included over 300 airstrikes throughout Yemen. Saudi Arabia did not immediately respond to the Houthi allegations.

Alerts for the city of Abha and the area surrounding Khamis Mushait were issued by the Saudi civil defence organization on Sunday, but they were promptly rescinded. After the Houthis placed a naval embargo on Saudi Arabia and started attacking its ships in the Red Sea, fighting in Yemen’s more than ten-year civil war resumed in July, endangering a truce mediated by the UN that put an end to widespread bloodshed in 2022. The Houthis launched air strikes on southern Saudi Arabia, including oil facilities, as the war quickly spread outside the country’s boundaries. Those attacks resulted in dozens of injuries.

After the Houthis took control of portions of Yemen’s Red Sea coast and strengthened their grip on the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a vital waterway that handles roughly 12% of world traffic, including 11% of marine oil and 8% of liquefied natural gas (LNG), clashes in the country escalated last week.

Since the United States and Israel began their war on Iran in February, Iranian forces have essentially shut the Strait of Hormuz, making the waterway an economic lifeline for Saudi Arabia and its oil shipments. The Associated Press news agency claimed on Monday that the Houthis have taken control of several important islands in the southern Red Sea, citing both Houthi and Yemeni officials.

According to two government officials and a Houthi official, Houthi forces were stationed on the islands of Greater Hanish and Lesser Hanish approximately 86 nautical miles (160 km) north of the Bab al-Mandeb, the AP said.

In the meantime, the International Organization for Migration said on Sunday that around 86,000 people had been displaced by the violence in Yemen in recent weeks. It further stated that over 2,000 people had reached Djibouti, a neighbouring nation, and that some of those uprooted by the fighting were leaving Yemen entirely.