Houthis accuse Saudi Arabia of launching 26 strikes in 24 hours

By Al Jazeera Staff, AFP and Reuters. Published On 18 Sep 202618 Sep 2026.

Key points

• On Friday, the group asserted Saudi strikes on Houthi-held territory had reached 300 over the past week alone, hitting positions throughout the areas it controls, AFP documented.
• The Houthis reportedly assured Washington that vessels not linked to Saudi Arabia would not be targeted.
• "Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia are unacceptable and sabotage the global economy, " Kallas remarked in a post on X.
• The exchange has come on the heels of a widening escalation of fighting in Yemen between the government's military and the Houthi fighters.
• As reports indicate from both sides, earlier this week, the intensifying attacks between the Yemeni administration and the Houthi rebels killed at least five residents, including three children.

As the two sides continue trading attacks against the backdrop of an escalating war in Yemen, according to the AFP news agency, yemen's Houthi rebels have remarked Saudi Arabia carried out 26 strikes against areas under the group's control previously 24 hours.

Yemen's administration, backed by Saudi Arabia, stated on Friday its forces had killed 30 Houthi rebels and wounded more than 60 in clashes in the al-Wazi'iyah district of Taiz province, one of a number of fronts where combat has picked up this week.

Meanwhile, the exchange has come on the heels of a widening escalation of fighting in Yemen between the government's military and the Houthi fighters.

As the rebels press gains that have brought substantial stretches of Yemen's Red Sea coast, including the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait, under their control, tens of thousands marched through Sanaa on Friday in a show of backing for the Iran-backed Houthis and against Saudi Arabia.

While Houthi-linked media noted deaths from Saudi strikes in Taiz and the town of Abs, saudi Arabia remarked one person was killed in the Taif governorate after a Houthi drone was intercepted. Though reluctantly, the escalation has drawn in Washington.

US authorities met Houthi representatives at the US embassy in the Omani capital, Muscat, over the weekend after the group's rapid territorial gains raised concern over shipping through Bab al-Mandeb, a vital corridor for global trade.

Notably, the Houthis reportedly assured Washington that vessels not linked to Saudi Arabia would not be targeted.

Despite appeals from Riyadh for US President Donald Trump to strike the Houthis directly, Washington has so far held back, wary of opening a new front while still fighting a costly war with Iran.

Meanwhile, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas remarked on Friday the bloc's Red Sea naval mission, Operation Aspides, had raised its alert level as the situation in the region worsened, the Reuters news agency noted.

She continued that she had spoken with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud concerning diplomatic efforts to end the fighting in Yemen and restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

For now, houthis accuse Saudi Arabia of launching 26 strikes in 24 hours remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.