Houthi advances in Yemen drive displacement, deepen humanitarian crisis

Saudi Arabia successfully intercepted six ballistic missiles launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels on Thursday, preventing attacks on the southern province of Taif and the Red Sea port city of Yanbu, according to the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. Damage or casualties in these areas remain unclear following an emergency alert issued for regions including Jeddah and the holy city of Makkah.

The attack on Yanbu came following an improvement in prospects for resuming oil exports from the port, which had been halted since September 11 due to drone strikes attributed by Riyadh to Iraqi militia. Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree claimed the group had targeted Saudi military sites in Jazan province, bordering Yemen, with dozens of ballistic missiles and drones.

While Yemen's Houthi forces have largely focused attacks on southern Saudi Arabia, they escalated their assaults across the kingdom after declaring a naval blockade against it in July, marking a new front in the US-Iran conflict. The Houthi takeover of Yemen's western coast nearly two weeks ago extended their reach to the strategic Bab el-Mandeb waterway at the Red Sea's entrance.

The coalition responded with a statement warning that any escalation or violations by the Houthi militia would be met with firm action. Earlier, Saudi forces had thwarted Houthi attacks on a crucial supply route to Yemen's third-largest city, Taiz, which links the internationally recognized administration in Aden with Taiz and its rural southern and western regions.

This mountain pass road, known as Hejat al-Abd, serves as the sole means for residents to travel abroad as flights are unavailable from Houthi-controlled areas. Control over the Taiz-Aden road could enable the Houthis to tighten their hold on Taiz and further weaken the government, which has struggled to regain momentum since losing the western coast in recent weeks.

The conflict in Yemen, now in its 12th year, was temporarily halted by a 2022 truce, but Houthi gains in recent weeks have reignited fighting along previous battle lines, particularly around Taiz. The United Nations reported over 700 fatalities and thousands of injuries in the latest violence, with more than 130,000 internally displaced Yemenis and over 3,000 fleeing by boat to Africa.