Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels restarted offensive operations against the Red Sea port city of Mocha on Sunday, executing a series of strikes utilizing uncrewed aerial vehicles and ballistic missiles, according to statements from both the insurgent group and military officials.
Yahya Saree, the military spokesperson for the Houthis, stated that the operation targeted concentrations of Saudi military personnel along with ammunition and equipment depots.
Video broadcasts aired by the Houthi-run media network Al Masirah TV depicted the launch phase of several drones and ballistic projectiles.
The renewed bombardment of the coastal hub underscores worsening armed friction between Houthi forces and Saudi Arabia.
This latest assault follows a coordinated offensive carried out on Friday, in which the Houthis claimed they had deployed missiles and drone swarms against Saudi-aligned military facilities at the Sahn al-Jinn base in Marib province. Houthi officials asserted that those strikes inflicted heavy damage on supply inventories, military vehicles, logistical hardware, and opposing personnel.
Concurrently, Yemen’s official SABA news agency, citing local government authorities in Marib, reported that Houthi forces launched ballistic missiles and uncrewed aircraft into densely populated urban neighborhoods and temporary encampments housing displaced families on Friday morning, resulting in two civilian deaths and leaving 14 others injured.
The Friday strikes followed a Thursday night assault targeting the southern Saudi border settlement of Najran. That strike resulted in injuries to 11 non-combatants, according to formal disclosures issued by the military command of the Saudi-led coalition.
Coalition authorities detailed that the injured included seven Saudi citizens, two Egyptian nationals, one Pakistani national, and one Yemeni citizen.
On Wednesday, Houthi representatives claimed responsibility for launching missile strikes against a pair of Saudi crude carriers-one operating close to the Red Sea port city of Yanbu and another navigating waters in the Gulf of Aden.
These naval operations represent the ongoing enforcement of a maritime blockade proclaimed by Houthi leadership last month across Red Sea shipping corridors. The insurgent group implemented the embargo in retaliation for aerial and commercial transport restrictions imposed on Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen. In response to the blockade, the Saudi government vowed to mobilize all international legal avenues available to safeguard commercial shipping lanes.
The naval friction builds upon intense ground battles fought in early July across western Yemen, where government troops engaged Houthi fighters south of Hodeidah governorate, resulting in at least 50 Houthi combatant deaths and dozens of injuries.
The conflict expanded further after Houthi figures accused Saudi military aircraft of bombarding Sanaa International Airport. However, Yemen's internationally recognized administration took credit for the air raid, maintaining that the action was executed to block an incoming Iranian aircraft. In retaliation, Houthi forces launched missile strikes into southwestern Saudi Arabia, targeting locations adjacent to Abha Airport.