Houthis say Saudi Arabia carried out 106 strikes on Yemen in 24 hours
In short
The Houthi movement said Saudi Arabia carried out 106 air and missile strikes on Yemen over 24 hours, including on the capital Sanaa. Houthi spokesman Yahya Sari said the targets were civilian sites in Sanaa and five provinces, and that F-15 and Typhoon jets flew from Khamis Mushait and Taif while missiles were launched near Najran. The same day, Kommersant reported Yemen's president announced a military operation against the group.
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The Houthi movement said Saudi Arabia carried out 106 air and missile strikes on Yemen within 24 hours, a claim carried by three outlets. Houthi spokesman Yahya Sari said in a Telegram post on Sunday that the strikes hit what he described as civilian sites in the capital Sanaa and in the provinces of Al Jawf, Taiz, Amran, Hajjah and Saada, according to Interfax and Kommersant. RIA Novosti reported the same figure. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
Sari said F-15 and Typhoon fighter jets took off from airbases at the Saudi cities of Khamis Mushait and Taif, and that missiles were launched from positions near Najran. Kommersant quoted him as saying the total number of air and missile attacks on Yemen since the escalation of the conflict with Saudi Arabia has exceeded 1,500. [ 3 , 4 ]
Kommersant reported that Yemen's President Rashad al-Alimi announced on the same day the start of a military operation against Ansar Allah. The outlet said the government states it intends to retake Sanaa, which has been under the movement's control for almost 12 years, and that the announced operation is tied to the stated goal of changing control over territory. It also cited an April 2025 CNN report, based on regional sources, that a ground offensive would be needed to dislodge the Houthis from Sanaa and the port of Hodeidah. [ 4 ]
Kommersant described the buildup: a July airstrike on Sanaa airport's runway by forces of Yemen's internationally recognised government, which Saudi Arabia supports, aimed at preventing the landing of a plane carrying senior Houthis; the Houthi capture of the port city of Mokha in early September; their takeover of the Bab el-Mandeb strait; and attacks on the Hanish islands in the Red Sea. [ 4 ]
Interfax said Saudi Arabia provides military support to Yemen's government forces, carrying out airstrikes on Houthi positions in an attempt to retake lost territory, and said Yemen has strategic importance for the kingdom because millions of barrels of Saudi oil pass through Bab el-Mandeb. The Houthis have said they would block Saudi tankers from passing through the strait, Interfax reported. [ 3 ]
A day earlier, RIA Novosti reported a Houthi claim of 60 Saudi strikes on Yemen. The documents contain no comment from Saudi or Yemeni government officials on the strikes and no casualty figures. [ 1 , 2 ]
Why it matters
The strikes are part of a conflict around the Bab el-Mandeb strait, the Red Sea passage through which, Interfax noted, millions of barrels of Saudi oil are shipped, and the Houthis have said they would block Saudi tankers there. Kommersant reported that Yemen's government has declared an operation whose stated aim is to change control of territory, including retaking Sanaa, a goal its own cited reporting says would require a ground offensive.
Key facts
- The Houthi movement said Saudi Arabia carried out 106 air and missile strikes on Yemen in the past 24 hours, including on Sanaa. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- Houthi spokesman Yahya Sari said the strikes hit civilian sites in Sanaa and in the provinces of Al Jawf, Taiz, Amran, Hajjah and Saada. [ 3 , 4 ]
- Sari said F-15 and Typhoon fighters took off from airbases at Khamis Mushait and Taif, and that missiles were launched from positions near Najran. [ 3 , 4 ]
- Sari said the total number of air and missile attacks on Yemen since the escalation of the conflict with Saudi Arabia has exceeded 1,500. [ 4 ]
- Kommersant reported that Yemen's President Rashad al-Alimi announced the start of a military operation against Ansar Allah, whose forces have held Sanaa for almost 12 years. [ 4 ]
- Kommersant reported the conflict escalated in July after a strike on Sanaa airport's runway by forces of Yemen's internationally recognised government, and that in early September the Houthis seized the port city of Mokha and took control of the Bab el-Mandeb strait. [ 4 ]
- Interfax said Yemen is strategically important to Saudi Arabia because millions of barrels of Saudi oil pass through Bab el-Mandeb, and that the Houthis have said they would block Saudi tankers there. [ 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Three outlets reported the Houthi claim that Saudi Arabia carried out 106 air and missile strikes on Yemen in a 24-hour period. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- Two outlets reported that Houthi spokesman Yahya Sari said the strikes targeted civilian sites in Sanaa and the provinces of Al Jawf, Taiz, Amran, Hajjah and Saada. [ 3 , 4 ]
- Two outlets reported Sari's statement that F-15 and Typhoon jets flew from airbases at Khamis Mushait and Taif and that missiles were launched from positions near Najran. [ 3 , 4 ]
Still unclear
- Whether Saudi Arabia or Yemen's internationally recognised government has confirmed or commented on the strikes. The documents carry only the Houthi account; no Saudi or Yemeni government statement on the strikes appears in them.
- Casualties and damage from the strikes. No document gives casualty or damage figures.
- How the 60 strikes reported on 3 October relate to the 106 reported for the following 24 hours. The two Houthi figures come from separate reports a day apart and the documents do not say whether one includes the other.
- Kommersant's statement that a ground offensive would be needed to take Sanaa and Hodeidah. It rests on a single, dated source — an April 2025 CNN report citing regional sources — cited by one outlet.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- RIA Novosti publishes the Houthi claim that Saudi Arabia carried out 60 strikes on Yemen (3 October). [ 1 ]
- RIA Novosti reports the Houthi claim of 106 Saudi strikes on Yemen over the past 24 hours (4 October). [ 2 ]
- Interfax details the Houthi claim of 106 air and missile strikes, including on Sanaa and five provinces (4 October). [ 3 ]
- Kommersant reports the same claim and that, that day, Yemen's President Rashad al-Alimi announced a military operation against Ansar Allah (4 October). [ 4 ]