Houthi Strikes on Saudi Arabia Wound 73, Set Oil Facilities Ablaze, Officials Say

A wave of Houthi missile and drone strikes hit southern Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, wounding at least 73 people and igniting fires at several oil facilities and utilities, Saudi officials said. The assault marked a sharp escalation in the conflict between the U.S.-backed kingdom and the Iranian-aligned rebels in Yemen.

The attacks followed weeks of rising tensions between the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces in Yemen, shattering a four-year truce that had largely contained the country’s civil war. After Tuesday’s barrage, Saudi-led coalition aircraft carried out retaliatory strikes, raising fears that the region could be pulled back into a full-scale conflict.

The flare-up delivered a fresh jolt to an already fragile region and injected new uncertainty into global economic calculations. Oil prices ticked higher as analysts weighed the risk of supply disruptions. The attacks also reignited concerns about shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a critical waterway for the movement of oil and commercial cargo between Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

Those worries are compounded by the fact that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has already been severely curtailed, leaving global markets with even less room to absorb another shock to oil routes. The facilities hit in southern Saudi Arabia are part of the kingdom’s energy infrastructure, and Tuesday’s casualties provide a stark reminder that military defenses can be overwhelmed despite years of investment in missile interception systems.

Washington condemned the assault and reiterated its commitment to helping Saudi Arabia defend its territory, while international observers urged all sides to step back from the brink. With negotiations stalled and both sides showing little inclination to back down, the risk of a renewed and prolonged conflict appears to be growing by the day.