The Houthis launch a large-scale attack in Saudi Arabia, injuring 73 people

Saudi Arabia on Tuesday denounced a series of strikes attributed to Houthi rebels in Yemen and vowed to retaliate against what it described as their largest attack on Saudi territory in several years.

Yemen, an impoverished country on the Arabian Peninsula, plunged back into war in July amid a regional conflagration. Since then, the Houthis have carried out several attacks against targets in Saudi Arabia, which leads the military coalition supporting the internationally recognized Yemeni government.

According to the Houthi-affiliated media outlet Ansarollah, the rebels used drones and missiles to strike Abha International Airport, King Khalid Air Base, and facilities belonging to the oil giant Aramco in Abha and Jizan.

The spokesman for the Riyadh-led coalition, General Turki Al-Maliki, indicated on X that the attacks on these cities had targeted "civilian and economic sites", without further details.

"The Kingdom reaffirms its legitimate right to take all necessary measures to defend its sovereignty," the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

He stressed "the need to immediately put an end to all forms of escalation practiced by this militia, as well as to the persistent threats against maritime navigation."

According to the Saudi Ministry of Energy, these attacks caused "fires at several sites, leading to the temporary interruption of some operations".

The Houthis on Monday accused Saudi Arabia of bombing positions, gatherings and camps under their control, as hostilities intensify.

Strikes notably hit al-Hazm prison in Jawf province, killing 11 people, a provincial official told AFP.

- 300 deaths since Thursday -

The rebels launched a new offensive last week aimed at advancing towards areas bordering the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

These clashes with pro-government forces in southwestern Yemen have left more than 300 dead since Thursday, forcing many families to flee, according to sources within both camps interviewed by AFP.

Bab el-Mandeb, which connects Asia to Europe via the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, has gained in importance since the start of the war in the Middle East and Iran's blocking of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, on the other side of the peninsula.

Yemen is the latest country to be drawn into the regional conflict triggered by the US-Israeli offensive on Iran in late February.

The ceasefire in place since 2022 collapsed in July, with the Houthis challenging Riyadh's hegemony over Yemeni airspace.

Since then, the rebels, supported by the Islamic Republic, have stepped up their attacks against military sites and government-controlled areas.

They also announced a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia, the world's leading crude oil exporter, and targeted its oil tankers and infrastructure within its territory, including a refinery.

The war in Yemen, which began in 2014, has killed hundreds of thousands of people and plunged the country into a major humanitarian crisis.