Yemen’s Houthi rebel group has threatened to intensify conflict against Saudi Arabia, saying it views maritime blockades, attacks on Saudi military facilities and defending Yemen’s sovereignty as central policies. The warning was issued by Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree in a report published on August 20, 2026. Saree said a major conflict would be met with a major response.

Saree said the group had attacked eight Saudi oil tankers since banning Saudi shipping on July 20. He said five attacks occurred in the Red Sea and three in the Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea. He also claimed that Houthi threats had forced 48 Saudi oil tankers to turn back, including 34 from the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean and 14 from the Red Sea.

The spokesperson further claimed nine attacks in Yanbu, Najran, Jizan, Abha and Saudi Arabia’s eastern oil supply system, alongside 14 operations targeting Saudi military positions in Al-Ruwaik, Al-Abr, Al-Wadiah, Marib and Al-Makha. The Houthis demanded that Saudi Arabia lift the blockade, halt military operations in Yemen, pay public employees’ salaries, withdraw foreign forces and leave Yemenis in full control of their natural resources.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they have blocked the movement of 48 Saudi oil tankers since July 20 and attacked eight others, according to a statement by military spokesperson Yahya Saree reported on August 19, 2026. Saree said the actions followed a Houthi-declared ban on Saudi maritime traffic.

The spokesperson said five of the eight targeted tankers were in the Red Sea, while three were in the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. He also claimed 34 tankers were forced to turn back in the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean, with another 14 turned back in the Red Sea.

Saree further claimed nine military operations targeting oil supplies in Yanbu, Najran, Jizan, Abha and Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, alongside 14 operations against Saudi military presence and equipment in several areas. He said the Houthis seek the lifting of the blockade, an end to aggression, payment of public employees’ salaries, withdrawal of foreign forces and control of Yemen’s resources by Yemenis. The report noted no immediate Saudi response.

Yemen’s Houthi-backed armed forces said they fired ballistic missiles at a Saudi Arabian military vessel and four military boats escorting it near the Al-Makha coast in the Red Sea. Brigadier General Yahya Saree, the group’s spokesperson, announced the claimed attack on Tuesday. The report was published on August 18, 2026.

Saree said several ballistic missiles were used in the operation and described the strikes as accurate and precise. He claimed the Saudi military ship caught fire completely as a result. He also said several accompanying boats sank, while the remaining boats caught fire.

The spokesperson said the Yemeni armed forces were closely monitoring all Saudi military activity and surveillance. He said any movement or position of Saudi forces on land or at sea would be targeted. Saree added that the forces would continue implementing what he called an “siege in response to siege” equation, targeting Saudi force positions and gatherings wherever they are located.

Yemen’s armed forces said they carried out 133 military operations against Houthi fighters over the past 24 hours. The forces said the operations targeted Houthi capabilities and members, according to a report published on August 18, 2026.

Colonel Majed al-Nujaili, spokesperson for Yemen’s armed forces, provided the information in a post on X. He said the operations used rocket launchers, artillery and drones against locations identified as sources of Houthi threats.

Al-Nujaili said units deployed at the military’s frontline positions also took part in the operations. The spokesperson did not provide details on casualties or damage resulting from the reported attacks.

More than 200 Houthi fighters have reportedly been killed in Yemen over the past 48 hours, with most deaths occurring in fierce clashes and drone strikes in the southwestern province of Taiz. Al Arabiya, citing sources, reported that most of those killed were members of the Houthi Al-Samad Brigade. The report did not identify the parties involved in the clashes or provide further details on the drone attacks.

Yemen Future, citing several sources, said the Houthis were seeking to make up for the losses and launch further attacks. It reported that the group had sent fresh troops and fighters to the Al-Barah front west of Taiz city. The newly deployed personnel reportedly include Houthi special forces, commandos and members with military training.

Sources in Sanaa said the Houthis have begun releasing hundreds of prisoners in areas under their control on condition that they join the fighting. About 850 prisoners and detainees have reportedly been released from prisons in Saada, Hajjah and Sanaa, while preparations are under way to release about 1,400 more in Dhamar. Released individuals were reportedly required to sign commitments to fight in exchange for promises involving legal cases, recruitment, financial support or debt payments.

Residents in Yemen’s government-controlled areas fear a return to full-scale war after renewed conflict with the Iran-backed Houthis, according to a report published on August 16, 2026. In the port city of Al-Makha, which has been hit by Houthi attacks, resident Nazem Hamoud al-Wahbani said people were living in fear and worried that conditions could again become severe.

Al-Wahbani told AFP that Houthi missiles and drones pass overhead daily and that residents hear artillery fire in the distance. He said people fear an attack could come much closer the following day. Mohammed Ali, who lives in Al-Khokha north of Al-Makha, is considering moving his family again as the fighting spreads. He had previously fled his home in Hodeidah province because of conflict and sought shelter in Al-Khokha.

Yemen’s civil war began in 2014 between the Houthis and the internationally recognized, Saudi Arabia-backed government. The conflict has killed several thousand people and pushed the country toward famine. A 2022 truce brought relative calm, but fighting resumed last month after Houthi attacks on a Saudi airport and an oil tanker. The Houthis said Saudi Arabia had attacked an airport under their control.

Yemen’s Mokha port suspended operations after missile attacks by Houthi rebels, the port director said on Saturday. Yemen’s internationally recognised government said the Houthis fired six ballistic missiles on Friday at Mokha, a strategically important Red Sea port city. The reported strikes led to the shutdown of port activity.

At a news conference, the port director said seven people were killed and the damage was estimated at $16 million. Houthi armed forces spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree said the targets were Saudi military positions and weapons depots in Mokha, as well as military vessels used by Saudi-backed forces and mercenary fighters.

The Houthis have carried out repeated attacks in recent weeks against US allies in the region and commercial ships. This month, the group has exchanged attacks with Yemen’s internationally recognised government and also struck Saudi Arabia, ending what the report described as a de facto four-year truce with the kingdom. The escalation comes amid uncertainty over maritime security in both the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz.

At least four people were killed after the Houthis attacked Al-Makha port in Yemen, which is controlled by government forces. The report, published on August 15, 2026, said the Houthis fired six ballistic missiles at the port. Part of the port facilities caught fire during the attack.

The strike on the important port further complicated Yemen’s ongoing conflict. A series of recent Houthi attacks has raised fears that major fighting could resume in the country. The source did not provide further details on casualties beyond the four deaths or on the extent of damage to the port facilities.

A 2022 truce had significantly reduced fighting between Yemeni government forces and the Houthis after years of conflict. Renewed attacks have raised fresh questions about the durability of that truce. According to the report, the recent violence has increased concern that Yemen could again face a full-scale war.

United Nations Yemen envoy Hans Grundberg has warned that Yemen faces its highest risk of returning to full-scale war since the 2022 truce. Speaking to the UN General Assembly, he cited recent tensions involving the Houthi rebels and renewed military activity across several areas of the country. Al Jazeera reported the warning on Friday, August 14, 2026.

Grundberg said military activity had increased in several Yemeni battlefields in recent days, with both military personnel and civilians among the casualties from attacks and clashes. Iran-backed Houthi fighters have clashed with government forces in Marib, Hadramout and al-Makha, also known as Mocha. Forces of Yemen’s internationally recognized, Aden-based government said they repelled a Houthi attack in Taiz.

The government said it had conducted artillery and drone strikes targeting Houthi forces in several governorates. The head of the Presidential Leadership Council pledged a broad response to every Houthi move. Grundberg urged all sides to de-escalate quickly and work toward a strong, sustainable ceasefire. He also warned that renewed Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping could draw Yemen into the wider regional conflict involving the United States and Iran.

A Pentagon review said US forces killed 153 civilians and injured another 243 in strikes targeting the Houthis in Yemen during 2025. The casualties occurred in three strikes in April 2025, according to the review. The attacks were carried out in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and at the Houthi-controlled Ras Isa fuel port.

The strike on Ras Isa port was the deadliest, killing 80 people and injuring 171. The US military had said the attack aimed to stop the Houthis’ fuel supply and revenue sources. After analysing intelligence, satellite and other imagery, and open-source information, the Pentagon review said civilians were likely harmed in the three strikes.

The Pentagon decided that compensation or condolence payments were not needed for the families of those killed and injured, without explaining the reason in the report. The 2025 toll was sharply higher than 2024, when the Pentagon reported two civilian deaths and two injuries in US operations. US Central Command is still reviewing 15 further civilian-casualty allegations, meaning the Yemen toll could rise.

A Pentagon report to the US Congress said 153 civilians were killed and another 243 were injured in US air strikes against the Houthis in Yemen during 2025. The figures were reported by The Hill, citing Pentagon documents, and were published in the source article on August 12, 2026. The 12-page report attributed the casualties to three specific strikes during a military operation in April 2025.

According to the report, a strike on the capital, Sanaa, on April 6 killed five civilians. A subsequent attack on the Ras Isa port on April 17 killed 80 people. Another air strike near Saada on April 28 killed 47 people. The Pentagon report said the three incidents together accounted for 153 civilian deaths, while the reported 243 injuries were also linked to those strikes.

The Pentagon said 15 additional incidents connected to the military operation remain under review. Investigations into possible civilian casualties in those cases are continuing, according to the report. The source did not provide further details about the incidents under review or their potential casualty totals.

At least two crew members were killed in an attack on a cargo ship near the Bab al-Mandab Strait off Yemen’s southern coast, British maritime security agency Vanguard said. The report, published on August 11, 2026, identified the dead as one Pakistani and one Indonesian national. Four other crew members were injured, including three Pakistanis and one Indonesian.

AFP, citing a Yemeni coast guard source, reported that Iran-backed Houthis attacked the vessel at the entrance to the Red Sea. The source said the remaining crew members were rescued. A second source confirmed the incident to AFP and said the ship was targeted again while the rescue operation was under way.

Vanguard said Yemeni naval forces moved to assist the vessel after the attack, but they were also fired upon, resulting in casualties. The report did not provide the ship’s name, its ownership, the timing of the attack, or the extent of damage to the vessel.

At least 11 people, including eight military personnel and three civilians, were killed in Houthi attacks on Yemen’s government-controlled port city of Mokha. Medical sources said 32 others were injured, including six civilians, according to a report published on August 10. All civilian casualties were reported to have resulted from strikes on Mokha port.

Two Yemeni government military sources had earlier said at least eight soldiers were killed and more than 40 military personnel were wounded. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group used missiles and drones to target what he called “Saudi enemy” troops and military equipment in the area.

Government military sources said the Houthis carried out several rounds of missile and drone strikes in Mokha. They also targeted positions and facilities of pro-government forces outside the city, as well as several islands near the Bab al-Mandab Strait. One military source said Saudi troops were stationed at some targeted sites, but no Saudi military casualties were reported. Residents said they heard loud explosions, with one reporting six successive blasts at the port.

Houthi missile and drone attacks killed 58 Yemeni government soldiers and injured many others, according to military sources cited in a report published on August 7. The sources described the strikes as Yemen’s deadliest single-day attack in four years.

Yemeni military officials said the attacks took place on Thursday at military camps in Al-Ruwayk in Marib province and Al-Abr and Al-Wadiya in Hadramawt near the Saudi border. At least 45 people were killed together when a missile struck a camp in Marib during a morning troop gathering.

The Houthis said the attacks were retaliation for what they called a Saudi-backed military buildup. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said ballistic missiles and drones targeted government military positions, naming Al-Ruwayk, Al-Thaniyah and Al-Abr among the affected areas. Saudi officials also said at least 11 civilians were injured in Houthi attacks in the southern Saudi area of Najran.

Separate attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels killed at least 30 soldiers from Yemen’s internationally recognized government in the central and eastern provinces of Marib and Hadramout, according to government officials cited by the Associated Press on Thursday. More than 50 soldiers were wounded in the attacks, which targeted several military bases.

The officials confirmed the casualty figures on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. Yemen’s military also confirmed that Houthi forces had attacked military bases, but did not release specific casualty figures. There was no immediate comment from the Houthis on the attacks.

The Houthi group said, without providing details, that it would soon issue an official statement on a major military operation. The clashes were described as the largest since an informal truce took effect in April 2022 and as a major deterioration in Yemen’s security situation. Yemen has been in civil war since 2014, while the Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 to support the internationally recognized government.