Houthi Strikes on Yemen Port and Saudi Refinery Raise Fears of Renewed Conflict

Yemen's Houthi rebels have released footage purportedly showing missile and drone launches aimed at Saudi-backed targets in the strategic port city of Mokha. The video, distributed by the group's media arm, Ansar Allah Media Office, displays multiple launches accompanied by slogans against the US and Israel.

The attack on Sunday struck a government-held port on Yemen's Red Sea coast, killing at least seven people, including four troops and three civilians, according to the National Resistance Forces, a Yemeni government-allied group. Fifteen civilians were reported injured.

Fayed al-Noman, an assistant undersecretary at the information ministry, said the rebels fired missiles and drones that severely damaged port buildings, piers, commercial goods, and food supplies. The military later reported an attempted attack using an explosive-laden unmanned boat, with missiles landing in several areas, including near a television channel.

Mokha is one of the main ports under Yemen's internationally recognized government and has been renovated to handle shipping that avoids the Houthi-held port of Hodeida. The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack, saying they targeted military forces and warehouses.

In a separate statement, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said they also targeted an Aramco refinery in the Saudi city of Jazan with a drone, in response to Saudi drones allegedly breaching Yemen's airspace over the provinces of Hajjah and Saada. The Saudi Energy Ministry reported a fire at the refinery facility with no casualties, though it did not specify the cause.

The attacks threaten to reignite Yemen's civil war, which saw major fighting halted by a 2022 truce. The escalation raises concerns over the security of strategic Middle East shipping routes and the potential for a return to widespread conflict in the impoverished Arab nation.