JNN 7th August 2026, Sana: The Yemeni Houthi’s have carried out a wide-ranging operation targeting military positions, including command centers, held by Saudi-backed mercenaries across the country, especially in the Border Areas of Yemen – Saudi Arabia,

The fresh Yemeni attacks killed at least 58 mercenaries and injured dozens, a Saudi military source who spoke on condition of anonymity told AFP. 

Yemeni media reported on Thursday that the operation involved the firing of a large number of ballistic missiles and drones at enemy troop concentrations and command centers in the al-Ruwaik area of Ma’rib Province, as well as the al-Abr, al-Thaniyahm , al-Wadiah districts in Hadhramaut Governorate and Saudi Arabia’s Najran Area.

The Houthis struck troops, depots, and camps in three provinces across central and eastern Yemen after detecting a buildup of Saudi-backed forces preparing for an offensive, the group’s military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said in a statement.

“The operation resulted in the death and injury of hundreds of Saudi mercenaries,” he said, warning Riyadh against any further “escalation.” Saudi Government forces have acknowledged that some of their soldiers were killed or wounded but did not provide figures.

Reuters cited Saudi government sources as saying that at least 30 soldiers were killed.

Saudi Coalition spokesman Turki Al-Malki said on X the attack that took place on Thursday injured seven Saudi nationals, among them a woman and a four-year-old child who sustained second-degree burns, in addition to one Yemeni, two Egyptians and one Pakistani national.

Turi Al-Malki said the Houthi group carried out the attacks using indiscriminate projectiles.

Yemen’s “shift toward conducting preemptive strikes against hostile targets reflects a strategy aimed at disrupting Saudi forces’ preparations and limiting their ability to determine the timing and location of any future escalation,” according to a report by al-Masirah.

Meanwhile, Ma’rib Governor Ali Tuaiman and Hadramout Governor Luqman Baras in separate statements warned Yemenis against fighting in the ranks of the enemy.

In recent days, the Houthis have claimed multiple attacks on Saudi targets, saying they were carried out in response to what the group described as an alleged Saudi blockade of Houthi-held areas. ■

For months, the Houthis have been seeking to establish direct flights between Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and Tehran despite opposition from the Saudi-backed government, which argues that they would violate the terms of the ceasefire.

On July 3, an Iranian Mahan Air plane landed in Sanaa for the first time in more than a decade to fly a Houthi delegation to the funeral of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed on the opening day of the US-Israeli attacks on Iran in late February.

However, when the same aircraft attempted to return on July 13, Saudi-backed forces struck the runway. The Houthis blamed Riyadh and declared the ceasefire over. A week later, the group announced a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia and has since claimed responsibility for attacks on eight Saudi-linked vessels.

Last week, the Saudi-led coalition carried out airstrikes on Houthi military sites in Yemen’s Hodeidah province, describing them as a response to the group’s attacks on commercial shipping. The rebels responded with attacks on Aramco facilities.

The Red Sea and its southern entrance, the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, have become even more important as an alternative shipping route because the Strait of Hormuz, which normally handles around a quarter of seaborne oil and LNG trade, remains largely closed due to the Iran war.

Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil exporter, has rerouted crude shipments away from the Strait of Hormuz to its Red Sea port of Yanbu, where loadings have averaged more than 4 million barrels per day since June – more than four times the level recorded during the same period last year, Reuters has reported, citing tanker-tracking data.

As oil and petroleum products account for more than three-quarters of Saudi Arabia’s exports, disruption to its crucial Red Sea export lifeline could be devastating for the Kingdom.

For more than a decade, Yemen has been gripped by conflict involving the popular Ansarullah resistance group, as well as rival militants supported separately by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Saudi Arabia waged a devastating war on Yemen in March 2015, but it failed to reinstall a Riyadh-friendly regime there. In 2022, the kingdom agreed to a ceasefire with Ansarullah, which has been running state affairs in the absence of a functional government in Sana’a. 

Last month, Yemen declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia in response to Saudi Arabia’s unjust land, sea, and air siege for nearly 12 years and the kingdom’s plundering of the country’s resources, along with recent Saudi attacks on the Sana’a International Airport.

Additionally, on Thursday, Yemen’s Sana’a-based Government commended the Armed Forces’ operation against major Saudi military mobilizations

It also praised the Yemeni force’s readiness to defend the nation’s efforts to lift the oppressive Saudi siege.

The Supreme Political Council said that Yemen will continue the “blockade for blockade and escalation for escalation” policy until the nation secures its freedom and independence, warning that any military mobilization by the enemy will be met with “painful” strikes.

“Saudi ground and naval mobilizations will not deter our people from pursuing their legitimate rights and ending the injustice against them,” it added.

It further held Saudi Arabia fully responsible for the consequences of any escalation, stressing that the kingdom has no option but to lift the blockade on Yemen, cease its aggression, and respect the legitimate rights of Yemeni people.

Riyadh is preparing for a major military offensive by sea and potentially by land, The Guardian reported last week, citing Yemeni sources. Troop movements indicate that the Saudi-backed coalition is concentrating forces for a potential attack on the Houthi-controlled central governorate of Al Bayda, according to the report.

A Saudi official told CNN on Thursday night that the Kingdom was preparing for “multiple coordinated attacks” by the Houthis and pro-Iranian Iraqi militias.

The escalation now threatens to reignite a conflict that had been largely dormant since 2022, when the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition agreed to a UN-mediated truce following years of civil war and a military intervention led by Riyadh. In the event of a major new offensive, Pakistan will have a very crucial role in the conflict, as it has been working as a mediator between the Iran & US war, and through its efforts Historic Islamabad MoU was signed by both Iran & US, which was suspended, as per Irani sources , as due to The agreed terms were violated regarding the Strait of Hormuz , entry & exit routes were not followed by the US allied shipping Companies, now as the US is under lot of Domestic & International Pressure for a ceasefire , but as Iran is not ready and Pakistan is already working vigorously to reach some type of ceasefire, so if Pakistan become a party in the Yemeni Houthis & Saudi Arabia conflict  due to a military cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia , then it will be a very odd Position , not for the Pakistan itself , but for the World Peace & Economic collapse , as if this US Iran war Prolongs , then there will be a confirm recession the whole world have to face , including Pakistan as the condition of the Pakistani Economy is already not in a sustainable condition.

Since 2022, the Houthis have reinforced their defensive positions and expanded domestic drone and missile production, which Western officials say has been supported by substantial Iranian technological assistance.

Last month, Riyadh unveiled plans for a 14-nation maritime defense coalition aimed at protecting navigation in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden through intelligence sharing, joint exercises, and coordinated naval operations.