Overview
- Saudi warplanes struck Sanaa International Airport and the Houthis responded with missiles and drones against Abha International Airport in a direct reciprocal exchange.
- No casualties have been reported from the cited strikes, and the Houthis said they shot down a Saudi-operated reconnaissance drone during the incidents.
- Houthi leader Abdul Malik al‑Houthi publicly warned that Saudi oil facilities, airports and other vital installations would be targeted with missiles and drones if Saudi forces escalate.
- Analysts and the parties describe the airport strikes as the most serious confrontation since the 2022 truce, raising immediate fears of spillover to ports, shipping lanes and humanitarian access.
- The exchange builds on a decade-long Saudi-led intervention, a 2015 blockade and past Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping, and follows tensions over attempts to run direct flights between Iran and Houthi-held Sanaa.