Yemen’s Houthi rebels have targeted an administrative building belonging to Saudi Arabia’s Aramco in the eastern city of Dhahran. Saudi energy officials confirmed that emergency teams responded to a fire sparked by the attack on Tuesday, though no casualties were reported.
This strike occurred shortly after the Houthi leadership issued an evacuation warning for employees and civilians near Saudi oil infrastructure, branding these sites “a legitimate target.” The tensions escalated after the Saudi-led coalition ordered civilians to clear the Yemeni Oil Company’s central station in the Houthi-controlled capital, Sanaa. “In Yemen, the scale of death, displacement and damage to civilian infrastructure, including in Aden and Sanaa, is mounting at an alarming rate.
Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree responded to the coalition’s evacuation order by threatening a “harsh and painful” reprisal against Riyadh if strikes continued in Sanaa. Following reports of explosions in the capital, Houthi-affiliated media confirmed that Saudi-backed forces had conducted air raids on the al-Sabah oil facility.
Saudi authorities reported that they successfully intercepted missiles launched toward Riyadh. Debris from the interceptions damaged 15 homes and left four people injured, according to a Civil Defense spokesperson. Further air campaigns by the Saudi-led coalition targeted oil storage tanks at the Ras Isa port and an additional facility in Hodeidah province.
Major General Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, justified the strikes by accusing the Houthis of utilizing the targeted fuel depots to house missiles and drones. Despite the potential for supply disruptions, Houthi officials claimed their storage sites were largely empty and that operations for local residents would remain unaffected, even as fuel queues formed in the capital due to civilian anxiety. According to still, witnesses in the city, Lines of cars formed at some gas stations amid fears of a shortage.
The regional conflict has severely impacted aviation, with carriers such as Air France-KLM, Lufthansa, Delta, Etihad, Air India, Gulf Air, and Qatar Airways suspending flights to Saudi Arabia. These suspensions followed a deadly weekend attack on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport that resulted in 13 deaths and over 300 injuries, with a separate projectile strike adding to the toll on Sunday. And 11 were wounded on Sunday after a projectile struck the airport in Riyadh, another person was killed.
In a show of continued military activity, the coalition intercepted three drones north of Riyadh on Tuesday. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s cabinet warned that the Houthis would face “consequences” for the ongoing barrage. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump characterized the Houthis’ actions as “behaving very badly” and suggested he might seek intervention from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The fighting has also intensified on the ground in Yemen. Government forces, backed by the coalition, launched the “Dawn of Yemen” offensive to reclaim strategic territory. In the Taiz governorate, nine air strikes were carried out across the Dhubab and al-Masrakh districts. Fighting remains heavy in al-Shaqab, south of Taiz, according to the Taiz Military Axis Media Center. The group’s forces again swept through and seized territory along the western coast and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, including the strategically located Mayyun Island in the strait, the same month.
Local rights groups reported significant civilian casualties in Taiz, alleging that Houthi shelling over the past 24 hours killed at least five people, including a five-year-old child, and injured 17 others. The Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedom accused the group of firing over 180 projectiles into residential areas, damaging multiple homes.
The broader humanitarian toll is rising, with the United Nations reporting more than 46 civilian deaths and over 130 injuries in Yemen since August, alongside 200,000 displacements since September. International Committee of the Red Cross President Mirjana Spoljaric warned that civilians across the region are suffering the consequences of the escalating hostilities. According to across the Middle East, civilian infrastructure has repeatedly been hit and lives have been lost,” Spoljaric, In a statement.
