Al Masirah TV, affiliated with the Houthis, reported that Saudi strikes targeted facilities of the state telecommunications corporation in Hodeidah city. The broadcaster also mentioned that Saudi forces aimed at Kamaran Island, located off Yemen’s western coast.
In a statement on Saturday, Turki al-Malki, a spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition, clarified that Hodeidah port had not been attacked and affirmed that all Yemeni ports, including Hodeidah, Ras Issa, and Salif, remain open for maritime navigation and are allowing commercial vessels to dock.
The Saudi coalition stated it would persist in taking necessary actions to protect its vessels and national interests, pledging to respond “uncompromisingly” should the Houthis continue their deemed hostile actions.
Yemen’s Houthi-led foreign ministry declared on Friday that the strikes marked the beginning of a phase of “escalation for escalation,” holding Saudi Arabia accountable for any ensuing developments.
Saudi Arabia has engaged in a seven-year conflict in Yemen since 2015 after the Iran-aligned Houthi movement seized the capital and ousted the internationally recognized government.
A ceasefire in 2022 halted much of the significant fighting in a conflict that has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths due to violence, starvation, and disease.
However, this truce has been weakened by Houthi attacks on a Saudi airport on July 13 and the declaration of a naval blockade on the kingdom, accompanied by strikes on Saudi tankers which the Houthis claimed to have executed on Thursday.
The Houthis asserted the airport attack was in retaliation for a Saudi assault on an airport they control and described the naval blockade as a response to a supposed Saudi siege on Yemen, which Saudi Arabia denies.
According to Saudi state news agency SPA, a Saudi vessel, NCC MASA, suffered minor hull damage from an attack in the Red Sea on Friday, as reported by a Transport General Authority official source. The vessel proceeded to its destination after safety checks confirmed the ship and crew were unharmed, SPA reported.
Reuters has not yet been able to independently verify these claims.
