The Houthis returned fire on Monday after the Saudi-led joint forces bombarded a ballistic missile launch platform in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen.
The coalition also destroyed “20 ballistic missiles” inside a storage facility at a mountainous site in Saada, according to coalition spokesperson Major General Turki Al-Malki.
In Al-Hudaydah governorate, naval forces struck targets belonging to the Houthis, including weapons depots, warehouses for explosive-laden boats, and naval mines.
General Al-Malki noted that the military operation was carried out to foil “a plot for imminent attacks targeting waterways in the southern Red Sea.”
The offensive coincided with Saudi-backed Yemeni forces’ arrival in Mocha and advancement near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, flipping weeks of siege by the Houthis.
The army confirmed the recapture of Dhubab and its airport in Taiz governorate, capitalizing on the coalition’s aerial assault, which saw rival fighters retreat.
The Houthis, however, claimed the Saudi-led attacks in Sanaa and the regions of Al-Jawf, Taiz, Hajjah, Sa’dah, and Ma’rib resulted in civilian casualties, including women and children.
The spokesperson, Yahya Saree, announced retaliatory strikes involving a large number of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.
Others were the Aramco refinery in Rabigh, Abha Airport, the Akifah Camp in Asir, the Khamis Mushait Base, and “other sensitive sites” in Najran and Jizan.
The Houthis warned airlines using the Saudi airspace to cease their flights, saying it has become an operations zone, with the exception of the airspace over Mecca and Medina.
Saree added that the paramilitary organization has the capabilities and resources to confront any “aggressive escalation,” as it has long prepared for such a time.
Houthis hit several Saudi sites after coalition strikes in Yemen