Yemen coalition strikes back ... Houthis launch missile attack on Saudi Aramco headquarters

[Financial News] Saudi Arabia-led Arab coalition forces launched a surprise operation to neutralize the core military capabilities of the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels, who have threatened Saudi territory, Yemen, the southern Red Sea and key maritime routes.
Clashes continued, with coalition forces attacking oil facilities in Sanaa, Yemen’s Houthi-held capital, and the Houthis retaliating by striking the headquarters of Saudi state-owned oil company Aramco with missiles.
On the 18th (local time), the Saudi English-language newspaper Arab News reported that the ‘Arab Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen (Coalition to restore legitimacy in Yemen)’ struck underground fuel storage facilities and port facilities in Sanaa, Hodeidah and Dhamar.
Coalition spokesperson Major General Turki al-Maliki said, “The Houthis have been refueling missiles and drones here that are used to threaten Saudi Arabia’s key transportation infrastructure, including in the Red Sea.”
He also said, “The Houthis have illegally seized basic necessities and critical energy resources meant for the people of Yemen and have exploited them as forward bases for military operations.”
The coalition stressed that it had acted in accordance with international law, including by issuing evacuation advisories to civilians near the Al-Sabaha Central Power Plant on the western outskirts of Sanaa and the Yemen Petroleum Company before the operation began.
Before the operation, three Houthi drones were intercepted by coalition forces in the skies north of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Yemeni government forces were also confirmed to have made major gains on the ground with air support from the coalition.
Yemeni government forces spokesperson Colonel Majed al-Nujailli said, “Using fighter jets and drones, field artillery, multiple rocket launchers and sniper units, we carried out a total of about 2,200 precision strikes,” adding, “We concentrated our attacks on key military targets—including Houthi command-and-control centers, positions, observation posts, weapons and ammunition depots, and transport routes—and completely neutralized their defenses.”
He explained that concentrated precision strikes in Yemen’s Taiz region had annihilated Houthi reinforcements and supply convoys, effectively crippling the rebels’ ability to regroup their forces and provide fire support.
After coalition forces struck oil facilities in Sanaa, the Houthis attacked an administrative building belonging to state-owned oil company Aramco in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, with a missile.
The Houthis warned that Saudi oil facilities were targets for attack that day, and told facility employees and nearby residents to evacuate.
Gulf News reported that a fire broke out in part of the Aramco building, but there were no fatalities. It also reported that four people, including a child, were injured by falling debris after a Houthi cruise missile was intercepted over Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital. The newspaper said a loud explosion was heard in Riyadh and that warnings about the threat were conveyed by phone only after the missile was intercepted.
The Jerusalem Post reported that, as the Houthis engage in fierce clashes with the coalition and Saudi Arabia, Israeli defense officials have raised the possibility of a Houthi surprise attack on Israel and begun strengthening their readiness.
The Post reported that the Israeli military believes the Houthis are capable of launching simultaneous surprise attacks by land and sea. Viewing the Houthis as unpredictable, authorities are preparing by conducting training, deploying weapons, strengthening coordination among the army, navy and air force, and keeping reservists and rapid-response forces in the Eilat area.



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