Saudi Arabia and the Houthis... How did the exchange of strikes in depth increase the number of casualties and complicate the crisis?

- Saudi Arabia announced, on Tuesday, that it had launched an attack on a major fuel depot used by the Houthi rebels in Yemen to support their attacks on the Kingdom’s airports and energy facilities. This came hours before the Iranian-backed group renewed its attacks on Riyadh and the southern region using missiles and drones.

In the latest episode of escalation between the two sides - which followed a week of Houthi missile and drone attacks that resulted in “the killing of at least 20 people” and caused the closure of Riyadh’s main international airport - Saudi forces said they bombed the Al-Sabahah central station, which is the largest fuel distribution center belonging to the rebels in northern Yemen, and has a storage capacity of about 58,000 metric tons. The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen stated that the Houthis were using the facility to "support military operations targeting locations inside the Kingdom and commercial shipping traffic in the Red Sea."

The operation came despite a previous statement issued by the Yemeni Oil Company - which is controlled by the Houthis - stating that the facility does not contain any stock of petroleum products, and that any attack on it will not affect fuel reserves or supplies. The strikes resulted in "the killing of two civilians and the injury of two others," according to the Houthis, while the Saudi-led coalition confirmed that it had warned civilians in advance of the need to evacuate the area.

Coalition spokesman Turki Al-Maliki said in a statement: “This operation focused on neutralizing the capabilities used by the Houthi militia to threaten the Kingdom, Yemen, the southern Red Sea and the sea lanes.” Hours later, in a move that appeared to be a response from the Houthis, the Saudi-led coalition announced the interception and destruction of 3 cruise missiles and two drones that were targeting the Riyadh region and southern Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi authorities reported that “at least 4 people were injured as a result of falling debris.” Meanwhile, an administrative building belonging to the giant national oil company "Aramco" in the city of Dhahran in the Eastern Province was also targeted, leading to a "limited fire," while the Ministry of Energy stated that "no casualties were recorded."

These developments come on Tuesday amid signs of continued escalation in the long-running conflict, which was renewed this summer and intensified last month after years of relative calm. Earlier on Tuesday, the coalition announced the interception of a ballistic missile launched towards the eastern region, and another targeted the Haradh area near the Yemeni border. It also reported the interception of 3 Houthi drones north of Riyadh.

Meanwhile, the Houthis' Al-Masirah channel reported that an artillery bombardment launched by the Saudi-led coalition in Saada Governorate led to "the injury of 3 Yemenis and two residents of African nationalities in Baqim District." The channel later reported, "Two civilians were killed and others were injured as a result of artillery shelling targeting residential villages in the Shada border district of Saada Governorate," and it also indicated strikes in Sana'a and other governorates.

Ofoq News Network cannot independently verify these reports. The intensity of the conflict has been escalating since the Houthis announced in July - in response to what they described as "retaliation for the Saudi siege of the Yemeni capital" - that they would target Saudi shipping traffic in the Red Sea as well as infrastructure within the Kingdom.

These attacks have intensified in recent days, including repeated strikes targeting King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. 13 people were killed and more than 300 others were injured on Saturday in what was considered the bloodiest attack against Saudi Arabia in more than a decade. The United States, the United Kingdom, Spain and Canada are among the countries currently warning their citizens against using the airport.

At the same time, the US State Department on Tuesday expanded the scope of travel restrictions imposed on US government employees in the Kingdom, noting that employees now need a special permit from the head of mission to use any airport within Saudi Arabia. These attacks revealed gaps in the Kingdom's defensive capabilities, at a time when it continues its air campaign in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government, which is waging ground confrontations against the Houthis.

On Tuesday, the Yemeni government forces announced continued progress in the military operation dubbed “Yemen Dawn.” The forces stated that, during the past 24 hours, they launched 2,200 raids on Houthi positions, killing about 1,200 fighters and destroying or disabling more than 440 military vehicles and other equipment.

Ofuk News was unable to independently verify these numbers. Meanwhile, the Houthis vowed to launch more attacks on economic and aviation-related targets inside Saudi Arabia, warning that they would target facilities belonging to the state oil company Aramco and King Khalid International Airport if Saudi forces continued to attack them.