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At the same time in Yemen, the Saudi-backed government army says it is inflicting heavy losses on the Houthis in Taiz.
The Saudi-led alliance fighting Yemen’s Houthis has accused the Iran-aligned group of attacking a power plant in the Muslim holy city of Medina in Saudi Arabia this week, a claim the Houthis deny.
Meanwhile in Yemen on Thursday, Saudi-backed government forces said they repelled a major Houthi attack in the Taiz governorate and inflicted heavy losses on their fighters.
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The Saudi-led coalition said a power distribution station in Medina that supplies electricity to the Masjid an-Nabawi (the Prophet’s Mosque) was attacked on Tuesday, putting one transformer out of service but without affecting the electricity grid.
It said that an investigation and examination of the drone wreckage confirmed Houthi involvement in the planning and execution of the attack.
A Houthi military source, quoted by the Houthi-run Saba news agency, denied the allegation, calling it a “lie” and saying it was intended to cover up what he described as Saudi Arabia failing to confirm its earlier allegations that the Houthis had targeted the Muslim holy city of Mecca.
The coalition claimed the Medina attack was part of what it described as repeated Houthi attempts to target the two holy mosques – the Masjid al-Haram (the Great Mosque) in Mecca and Masjid an-Nabawi – and “provoke” Muslims worldwide. It said it would take further measures to protect the holy places and pilgrims.
Separately, the coalition said it destroyed four drones launched by the Houthis over the southern Saudi city of Khamis Mushait on Thursday and two ballistic missiles over Khamis Mushait and Jazan, also in the south.
Deadly conflicts in Yemen
The latest escalation in Saudi Arabia comes as the army of Yemen’s internationally recognized government claimed to have killed dozens of Houthi fighters as intense clashes spread across multiple fronts in Yemen’s southwestern Taiz province.
The Yemeni army said in a statement to X that the Houthis opened heavy fire on Wednesday evening in the Jabal Habashi and Maqbanah districts, west of Taiz, and on the al-Aqrud front in the al-Masrakh district in the southeast.
Citing a military source, the Saudi-backed forces reported killing at least 30 Houthi fighters on the al-Aqrud front alone, wounding dozens more.
Six airstrikes also caused heavy losses southeast of Taiz, and on the Humayr front in the Maqbanah direction in the west, the statement added.
As the number of internally displaced people in Yemen rises, the majority are being resettled in Taiz, according to government figures. The management unit for Yemen’s internally displaced people camps said that 197,906 individuals were officially registered as of Wednesday, from 29,519 families.
More than 97,000 people are housed in Taiz province, followed by Lahij, with more than 50,000.
Almost $60m in Saudi funding
Amid the intense fighting, Saudi Arabia announced on Thursday that it had approved 224 million Saudi riyals ($59.7 million) in budget funding for the internationally recognized government of Yemen.
The funds will help “to improve the regularity of government financial flows, support the efficiency of fiscal policy, and contribute to strengthening the purchasing power of the Yemeni citizen”, said the Saudi ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed al-Jabir, the X.
Last month, Houthi fighters expanded control over the strategic Bab al-Mandeb road, one of the most important trade routes in the world, by capturing the Red Sea city of Mocha.
Known as the Gate of Tears, Bab al-Mandeb is a critical artery for crude oil and fuel traveling from the Gulf to the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal, as well as for Asian goods and Russian oil.
Government forces then vowed not to let the Houthis advance, with field commanders in Taiz and on the western coast saying they would try to retake Mocha.
