Saudi Arabia Launches Retaliatory Strikes on Houthi City of Hodeidah

On Friday, Saudi forces launched an attack on the Houthi-occupied city of Hodeidah, retaliating for the latest round of Houthi strikes on Saudi shipping.

For years, Saudi forces and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government fought the Houthi group for control of Hodeidah and the rest of northwestern Yemen. That conflict ended in a ceasefire agreement in 2022, but has been relit by Houthi attacks on Saudi shipping.

Two Saudi tankers were hit by Houthi drones and missiles on Wednesday, and a third tanker - the NCC Masa - was struck on Friday. The Masa sustained only minor hull damage, Saudi state news agency SPA said, and continued onwards on her commercial journey.

The Saudi retaliatory strike on Houthi territory hit a state media telecom facility and an island offshore, according to Houthi outlet Al Masirah. A spokesman for the Saudi government said that Hodeidah's seaport - the largest in Yemen - was not hit in this round of strikes, nor the nearby energy port at Ras Isa. All Yemeni ports remain open, the Saudi official claimed. (The Houthis allege that Saudi Arabia has imposed a siege on Yemen.)

Though the Houthi blockade of Saudi port operations may prove to be an irritant for Saudi oil shipping interests and their customers, traffic continues to pass through the southern Red Sea and Strait of Ban el-Mandeb. The Houthis insist that the strait is open, and that their blockade applies only to Saudi-linked vessels.