Houthi strikes in Yemen as Saudi Arabia braces for attacks: What we know

Published 7 August 2026 · world

Tensions between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia have increased since the US-Israel war on Iran began. Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen launched at least 12

Tensions between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia have increased since the US-Israel war on Iran began. Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen launched at least 12 fresh missile attacks on the Yemeni provinces of Hadramout and Marib on Friday, following drone and ballistic missiles launched at Saudi-led coalition and Yemeni government military sites, killing at least 30 soldiers in the country, on Thursday. Separately, a senior Saudi official told journalists that a Houthi attack on southern Saudi Arabia on Thursday had wounded 11 civilians, including a young child. On Friday, a senior Saudi official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that intelligence suggests the Houthis and Iraqi armed groups may launch new attacks under the supervision of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including on energy infrastructure, ports and airports. The attacks, the deadliest in years in Yemen’s civil war, mark a major escalation in the regional conflict which has been reignited by the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran at the end of February. They follow an increase in violence in Yemen seen in recent weeks. Since the Yemen war broke out in 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed. Saudi Arabia led an Arab coalition in a campaign to dislodge the Houthis from 2015 until a 2022 truce, but the Houthis currently remain in control of the capital and other parts of Yemen. What is behind the latest tensions? What has happened? Yemeni government sources told Al Jazeera that at least 30 government soldiers were killed and 15 others injured when Houthis fired eight missiles from al-Jawf governorate, north of Marib, targeting al-Thiniya and al-Abr in Hadramout and al-Rouk in Marib on Thursday. The sources said casualty numbers were expected to rise. Al Jazeera’s Yemen affairs editor Ahmed al-Shalafi reported that the missiles struck at 2pm local time (11:00 GMT) on Thursday, hitting camps belonging to several government military formations, the Homeland Shield Forces, the Emergency Forces and the First Military Region in Hadramout. The Homeland Shield Forces were formed in 2022 with Saudi backing and number tens of thousands of troops. They guard the Marib-Hadramout frontier and the Saudi border. The formation also fought separatist Southern Transitional Council forces earlier this year. The Emergency Forces, created by presidential decree in late 2025 under Saudi-led coalition supervision, secure the land borders and anti-Houthi fronts in al-Jawf and Hadramout. The First Emergency Division Command added that casualties had been high on Thursday because troops had gathered for a morning training exercise. Then, on Friday, Yemen’s State TV reported that the government’s air defences had downed a number of drones launched by the Houthis above Marib. Reporting from Sanaa on Friday, Al Jazeera’s Yousef Mawry said that since the early morning, the Houthis had reportedly launched at least 12 more missile attacks on the Yemeni provinces of Hadramout and Marib. “These are two of the Yemeni government’s strongholds that have come under attack over the past couple of days by the group, and according to Houthi officials, these missile and drone attacks will continue against what they called Saudi allies, or proxies, over Yemeni land,” he said. He noted that the group is referring to the internationally recognised Yemeni government. “According to their latest statements, the Houthis believe the government is coordinating with Saudi Arabia for a potential ground offensive against Houthi positions,” he said. Meanwhile, according to the Reuters news agency, early on Friday, Major-General Turki al-Maliki, the spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognised government, said the Houthis had attacked Saudi Arabia’s southern Najran province, injuring seven Saudis, one Yemeni, two Egyptians and one Pakistani national.