Saudi Arabia, Houthi fighting sharply escalates as Riyadh reports at least 73 wounded

Al Jazeera reported on Tuesday, September 8, 2026 (17 Shahrivar 1405), that fighting between Yemen's Houthi forces and Saudi Arabia has sharply escalated. Major General Turki al Malki, spokesman for the Saudi led coalition in Yemen, said the Houthis struck the Saudi cities of Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jizan and Najran in the kingdom's south, wounding at least 73 people, including women and children. Saudi Arabia's Energy Ministry said the attacks caused fires at several oil and energy facilities in the southern provinces, including near the 400,000 barrel per day Jizan refinery. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group used drones and ballistic missiles in what he called retaliation for earlier Saudi strikes on Houthi held areas in al Jawf, al Bayda, Marib and Taiz. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al Saud condemned the attacks at a joint news conference in Moscow with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, but said the road to diplomacy remains open. The World Health Organization said on Monday, September 7, that at least 728 people have been killed or wounded in Yemen since August 23, with about 21,000 displaced from Taiz alone. The strategic importance of the Bab al Mandeb Strait, an alternative route for Saudi oil exports since the disruption of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, has risen sharply in the same period.