• Yemeni government forces, with Saudi aerial support, are trying to regain a foothold in the strategic mountainous district of al-Waziyah in the Taiz governorate.

Houthi leader accuses Saudi Arabia of exploiting Mecca for political goals

This was an hour-long speech in which Abdel-Malik al-Houthi addressed many different issues, focusing mainly on his criticism of Saudi Arabia for using what he called Mecca as its banner of oppression. A falsehood and deception, he called it.

Saudi Arabia is accusing the Ansar Allah group of targeting Mecca. He called on the Muslim world to support Yemen in condemning Saudi Arabia for using the holy city to achieve its political-military goals in Yemen.

He also noted that this is the 12th year of Saudi aggression, and that Saudi Arabia started this round of conflict by launching a military operation on Sanaa international airport prior to the takeover of Mocha and the Ansar Allah advance.

That was the event that set off a domino effect, leading to Ansar Allah advancing south to capture Mocha, Dhabab and Bab al-Mandeb.

He said Saudi Arabia forced Yemen into a defensive position, and that current battlefield actions are a defence against a country hellbent on keeping Yemen oppressed and under servitude.

He said that the US and the Zionists are the ones leading this military effort for Saudi Arabia, and that they are the ones imposing these political policies and forcing Saudi Arabia to act militarily.

African Union condemns attacks on holy sites and Red Sea shipping

The African Union Commission has expressed “particular concern over reports of attempted attacks targeting Makkah and other holy cities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” in a press release on Thursday.

The organization also emphasized that the security of the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb strait was “a major strategic interest for Africa, particularly for the States of the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea littoral States”.

The commission joined a number of other states, global organisations, and individuals that also came forward to condemn ongoing attacks.

Houthi supporters condemn ‘lies, propaganda’ about targeting Mecc

Many people have gathered in the Al-Sabeen Square, where demonstrations take place each Friday in support of the Ansar Allah (Houthi) movement.

The protesters have come with a new message. They are condemning Saudi Arabia for what they say are its lies and propaganda. Saudi Arabia recently claimed that the Houthi movement targeted the holy city of Mecca, an accusation the Houthi movement strongly rejects.

Protesters are holding signs showing their appreciation for Mecca. This entire rally is centered on protecting Islamic sanctity and Islamic holy sites. The protesters believe Saudi Arabia accused the Houthis of targeting Mecca to try to rally support for the Saudi military effort in Yemen. In other words, they believe Saudi Arabia is using the holy city of Mecca as a battle cry.

But the message here is very clear: The Houthis are going to continue fighting off Saudi aggression.

Italy to deploy warships to protect shipping through Bab al-Mandeb

Italy will deploy warships to ensure safe passage for its commercial vessels through the Bab al-Mandeb strait, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto has said, adding that Rome would not wait for a joint decision from the European Union.

“We have the capabilities to protect the passage,” Crosetto said, warning that if the waterway became impassable, the economic consequences would be severe.

Bab al-Mandeb links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, forming one of the world’s busiest shipping corridors between Europe and Asia and a critical route for oil, gas and container traffic heading to and from the Suez Canal.

The significance of the strait has been hit dramatically in the past few weeks, when the Iran-backed Houthi movement launched a rapid offensive that brought the entirety of Yemen’s western Red Sea coast under its control, including several strategically located islands.

Multinational Combined Maritime Forces alliance met in Jeddah: Saudi Arabia Defence Ministry

Saudi Arabia’s Defence Ministry said the fourth planning meeting of the multinational Combined Maritime Forces with 154 naval force leaders, planners, ambassadors, and European Union representatives from 41 countries was held in Jeddah on Thursday.

It was part of the alliance’s ongoing transition from the “establishment phase to full operational capability,” said a ministry statement posted on X.

“The alliance is now in the capability integration and operational readiness phase, preparing for operational deployment and physical presence in the maritime operations area.

“This stems from the understanding that protecting freedom of navigation and maritime routes and straits is a shared international interest requiring effective partnership, diverse capabilities and a collective response.”

The ministry added that the alliance supports the “security and safety of maritime navigation in accordance with international law”.

EU maritime operation raised alert level of its ships after Houthi attacks: Foreign policy chief Kallas

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has said that the Iran-backed “Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia are unacceptable and sabotage the global economy.”

“Given the worsening security situation, EU Operation ASPIDES has raised the alert level of its vessels as it continues its escort duties,” she added.

Operation ASPIDES is a defensive EU maritime security mission launched in February 2024, to protect merchant shipping from Houthi attacks.

Kallas said she had spoken to the kingdom’s foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, “about diplomatic efforts to end the fighting in Yemen and restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz”.

“Maritime passage must be unimpeded and toll-free,” she added in a post on X. “Europe is helping protect shipping in the Red Sea from Houthi attacks.”

Saudi Aramco tells two European refining customers they won’t receive crude next month: US media outlet reports

Saudi Arabia’s national oil company Saudi Aramco has informed at least two of its European oil refining customers that they will not be sent crude oil next month, according to sources cited by Bloomberg News.

The report comes after Saudi Arabia temporarily shut its East-West pipeline last week due to a drone attack.

The closure of the pipeline, which had increased capacity to help mitigate the disruption to exports in Hormuz, dealt another major blow to the kingdom’s oil exports.

Government forces claim to have killed 30 Houthi fighters during fighting in Taiz’s Al-Wazi’iyah district

Clashes between Yemeni government forces and the Houthis in Taiz have been concentrated in the west of the governorate, specifically in the Al-Wazi’iyah district, around the Al-Dharifah intersection, according to government military sources, our correspondent on the ground reports.

Government forces announced that 30 Houthis had been killed and 60 others had been wounded, a toll that could not be independently verified.

Air strikes had been deployed against Houthi positions in Al-Dhikra Junction and the Al-Damna and Al-Rahida areas of Taiz, government forces also said.

In Mocha, government forces said raids targeted Houthi movements, reinforcements, and the roads leading to it, in an attempt to cut off supplies and prevent any progress towards the coast.

The Yemeni army also reported that it had thwarted a Houthi attack on its positions in Kahbub, following clashes that lasted more than three hours, adding that it had repelled the attack three times and forced the attackers to retreat.

Yemeni government forces claim to have killed more Houthi fighters, destroy combat vehicles

Yemeni government forces have shared several videos which they say show the targeting of Houthi fighters and vehicles in several areas.

In one post, government forces in the western part of Marib governorate claim they destroyed nine Houthi “combat vehicles”, killing everyone aboard.

Drone attacks targeting Houthi positions in northern Marib were claimed in a later post.

Former US diplomat questions Saudi strategy in Yemen amid Houthi territorial gains

Nabeel Khoury, a former US diplomat and former deputy chief of mission in Yemen, said it is “questionable” whether Saudi-supported government troops in Yemen can defeat the Houthis as they advance towards Marib, the last government stronghold, east of the capital Sanaa.

“After the defeat of the Southern Transitional Council months ago, there’s still a lot of dissension among the ranks. There is a lot of corruption in the leadership and ultimately they’re not a very effective fighting force. It’s really a futile war. Saudi Arabia cannot win this on its own”, Khoury said.

“Some of the Saudi-supported government want to wrest control of Sanaa from the Houthis. That would be very costly for everybody concerned and ultimately it is questionable whether that’s even doable,” he added.

“The best they can hope for at this point is to go back to the 2022 agreement. The government forces have lost or are still continuing it appears to lose, territory. What is Saudi Arabia waiting for then, before it agrees realistically to approach a diplomatic path?” Khoury said.

At least 112,000 people displaced in Yemen due to conflict: UN

The UN migration agency says at least 112,000 people have been displaced in Yemen within the last two weeks amid renewed conflict between the Houthis and government forces.

Nearly 3,000 others have fled by sea to neighbouring Djibouti, the agency added.

The government there is preparing for the arrival of up to 10,000 refugees, which will acutely pressure healthcare and education services, the agency said on Friday.

Yemenis facing ‘multiple health risks’ amid rising violence and mass displacement, warns UN

The United Nations has warned that Yemenis are facing “multiple health risks” and is calling for action to prevent a humanitarian crisis.

Over 112,000 people have been displaced in two weeks of fighting and risks include “cholera, measles, dengue, diphtheria, malnutrition”, the UN in Geneva posted on X.

UN agencies warn they are facing “funding constraints” on the ground and had limited supplies before the latest escalation in violence.

US appears willing to watch from sidelines

United States officials met Houthi representatives at the US embassy in the Omani capital, Muscat, over the weekend after the Iran-aligned movement seized thousands of square kilometers of territory in just a few days.

With strategically important islands and large stretches of Yemen’s Red Sea coast now under Houthi control, the group has tightened its grip on the Bab al-Mandeb strait – a crucial chokepoint for global shipping and energy supplies.

During the talks, the Houthis assured US officials that they had no intention of attacking US shipping in the Red Sea, saying their restrictions would apply only to vessels linked to Saudi Arabia.

But that would still leave two of the world’s most important shipping routes facing serious disruption, with traffic through the Strait of Hormuz restricted for the past six months. Any further disruption could drive global oil and consumer prices even higher, creating another political headache for US President Donald Trump before midterm elections in November.

Houthis may attempt to capture Marib in coming weeks, months: Analyst

Thomas Juneau, a non-resident research fellow with the Sana’a Center, says the Houthis may soon attempt to seize the city of Marib, which he described as the internationally recognized government’s “last important urban stronghold”.

“The Houthis have had their eyes on Marib for years now,” Juneau told Al Jazeera, adding that the group had previously tried unsuccessfully to seize the city.

“It is quite plausible in the coming days, weeks or months, there will be another attempt on their part,” he added.

While such an attempt is not guaranteed to succeed due to “serious” government defences there, the internationally recognized government’s failure to defend Yemen’s south-west corner should give it cause for alarm, as well as raise concern in Saudi Arabia and the US, he added.

Anti-Houthi forces ‘failed to build unified front’, says analyst

Thomas Juneau with the Sana’a Center says persistent divisions among anti-Houthi forces made Yemen’s Saudi-backed government vulnerable to the Houthis’ latest advances.

Juneau said that the Yemeni government, along with its Saudi backer and US ally, have had years to “fortify defenses” and prepare for a well-foreseen Houthi offensive.

“They failed to do so,” Juneau said, adding that factions within the anti-Houthi bloc instead expended more energy “bickering… and in some cases fighting against each other”.

“That has consistently prevented them from building the unified front that would allow them to, if not defeat the Houthis, at least resist them much more,” he added.

Saudi civil defence issues brief alerts for five governorates

Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defence has issued brief alerts of potential danger for several regions of the country, including the governorates of Jeddah, Taif, Yanbu, al-Ula and Khamis Mushait.

Shortly after, it said the alerts in all five governorates had been lifted.

Saudi civil defence issues new wave of alerts

The Saudi Civil Defence has issued a new round of alerts for several areas of the country, just minutes after lifting earlier alerts.

The new alerts of potential danger apply to the regions of Jazan and Abha, as well as the governorates of Khamis Mushait, Jeddah, Taif and Yanbu.

Saudi civil defence lifts latest alerts

The Saudi Civil Defence has lifted all of its latest alerts, including for the Jazan region, the city of Abha and the governorates of Khamis Mushait, Jeddah, Taif and Yanbu.

It urged residents to continue following instructions from the civil defence and to avoid gatherings or filming.

More than 2,700 Yemeni refugees face dire conditions in Djibouti

More than 2,700 Yemeni refugees have arrived in Obock, Djibouti, where humanitarian assistance remains severely limited.

Families are being housed in a temporary shelter while tents are prepared, with shortages of food, accommodation and basic sanitation.

Women, children and men are among those staying in difficult conditions amid extremely high temperatures.

Yemen ministry accuses Houthis of attacks on humanitarian facilities

Yemen’s Human Rights Ministry, part of the internationally recognised government based in Aden, has accused the Houthis of attacking and looting Saudi-funded humanitarian and medical facilities in al-Khawkhah and other areas along the western coast.

The ministry said the alleged attacks affected clinics, food and medicine warehouses, as well as water and shelter projects.

“These attacks represent a direct targeting of humanitarian and relief efforts,” the ministry said, warning that thousands of civilians and displaced people could lose access to basic services.