Houthis | Pakistan

Yemen’s Houthis targeted Saudi Arabia on Monday, hours after the rebels accused the kingdom of attacking Sanaa airport — the biggest flare-up in years between the two sides that threatens to upend a frozen conflict. The Saudi-backed Yemeni government claimed responsibility for the attack on the Houthi-held airport, saying it wanted to prevent an Iranian plane from landing. It came after they failed to convince a Houthi delegation that went to Tehran for the late Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei’s funeral to board a flight on domestic carrier Yemenia instead. “Air defences dealt with a ballistic missile threat launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards the southern region,” coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said in a social media post. Earlier, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree accused Saudi Arabia of “ending the de-escalation phase” and warned that “this aggression will not go unanswered or unpunished”. The latest escalation threatens to unravel a truce that has been holding since 2022 despite ...

The Houthi rebels, who control swathes of Yemen, have used an array of sophisticated weapons — including ballistic missiles and “kamikaze” drones — in attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea in protest against Israel’s ongoing military onslaught in the Gaza Strip. Attacks on cargo ships and fuel tankers began in November 2023, when Houthi hijacked the Galaxy Leader cargo vessel as it was passing through the southern Red Sea. They redirected it toward Hodeidah port in Yemen and seized the crew. Since then, at least 43 more ships have been attacked in the area, with four seafarers killed and two vessels sunk. The Houthi attacks have disrupted international commerce, forcing international shipping to take the long route around South Africa to avoid being struck. Around 12 per cent of shipping passes through the Red Sea and the increase in delivery costs is stoking fears it could trigger a fresh bout of global inflation. Recent developments between Tel Aviv and Sanaa include the killing of the Houthi gov...