Saudi Arabia's main airport resumed limited operations on Wednesday after repeated attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels, while a projectile struck a tanker off Oman and renewed fighting in Yemen disrupted water supplies and essential services, underscoring the widening impact of the regional conflict.
At Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport, only Saudi carriers Saudia and Flynas were operating flights on Wednesday, according to FlightAware data. Authorities had notified airlines two days earlier that operations could resume with prior permission. The airport had been shut on October 10 after multiple Houthi strikes this month.
Major international carriers, including Lufthansa and Air France, have cancelled flights through mid-November. The Houthis have acknowledged attacking the airport, claiming without evidence that Saudi Arabia used the facility to supply military equipment to government forces.
The disruption to air traffic could have longer-term economic consequences for Saudi Arabia beyond the immediate damage caused by the strikes.
Fighting intensifies across Yemen
Yemen's government forces said they had carried out 744 strikes against Houthi military targets across several front lines in the 24 hours leading up to Tuesday. Government military spokesman Majid al-Nuzaili said the operations targeted command centres, firing positions, troop concentrations, reinforcements and supply lines.
The Saudi-led coalition also said it had intercepted a drone over Riyadh on Tuesday, hours after announcing the interception of a ballistic missile launched towards the capital. Two loud explosions were heard in the city, and residents received mobile alerts, but no casualties or damage were reported.
The Houthis said Saudi forces had carried out 93 air and missile strikes across eight Yemeni provinces over the same 24-hour period. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed the total number of Saudi strikes since the latest escalation began had reached 2,793. The figures could not be independently verified.
Houthi-run Al-Masirah television also reported that eight fishermen were killed on Tuesday when strikes hit two fishing boats off the coast of Dhubsab district in southwestern Taiz province. There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia on the claim.
Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of the country's north. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 in support of the internationally recognised government.
Tanker fire reported off Oman
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said an unidentified projectile ignited a fire aboard a tanker in the Persian Gulf, about 11 nautical miles west of Bukha in Oman's Musandam province.
The fire was extinguished and the vessel was at anchor, with all crew members safe, UKMTO said. The incident was the latest reported attack on vessels attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz without coordinating with Iran amid its conflict with the United States.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's Defence Ministry said five drones heading towards the kingdom were intercepted and destroyed over Medina, according to a statement by coalition spokesman Maj Gen Turki al-Malki.
The Houthis also claimed responsibility for a ballistic missile strike on a military camp near Yemen's Aden airport in the Khor Maksar district. A Yemeni transportation ministry official said a civilian aircraft had taken off before the strike and the airport's departure hall had been evacuated.
Airport operations were temporarily suspended, but the strike caused no damage to the runway, the official said. The Houthis claimed the camp housed a command centre for Saudi-led forces fighting the rebels. It was the second time in five days that the group had claimed to target the camp.
Yemen adds people and firms to terrorist list
Yemen's internationally recognised government has added 135 people, companies and vessels to its terrorist list in an effort to cut off the Houthi rebels' sources of financing.
Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani described the decision as a significant step towards disrupting the group's financial and commercial networks. The list includes bankers, military and financial officials linked to the Houthis, five tankers and a United Arab Emirates-based company accused of smuggling oil to the rebels.
Al-Eryani urged foreign governments and international financial institutions to help track financial networks, money laundering and alleged Iranian oil smuggling linked to the Houthis. There was no immediate response from the group or those named, and the impact of the measures on Houthi finances remained unclear.
Separately, a military funeral was held in the southern Yemeni city of Ataq for 75 recruits killed in a Houthi missile strike on the al-Alam military camp in Shabawa province on Monday. More than 200 recruits were wounded, making it the deadliest attack since fighting intensified again.
Shabawa Governor Awad Ibn al-Wazir and senior government and military officials attended the funeral. Ibn al-Wazir pledged to hold those responsible for the attack accountable.
Water shortages and disease fears grow in Taiz
In Yemen's third-largest city, Taiz, families have begun rationing water as renewed fighting disrupts fuel supplies, water systems and access to essential services for around three million people, aid groups and United Nations agencies said.
Fighting between government forces backed by Saudi Arabia and the Iran-aligned Houthis since September has cut key supply routes, including the Taiz-Aden corridor, worsening shortages of water, food and fuel. Fuel scarcity has hampered water pumps and hospitals, while disrupted waste collection has left rubbish piling up along major roads, raising fears of disease outbreaks.
Water production in Taiz has fallen by about 50%, according to Save the Children. The cost of a water truck has risen from around 23,000 Yemeni rials to 70,000 rials, UNICEF said, as fuel shortages and restricted access to the Al-Dhubab aquifer have further constrained supplies.
"We feel the situation is really getting out of hand unless we are able to negotiate access to have water tankers come in to the city," said Iman Abdullahi, CARE Yemen country director.
The World Health Organization said cholera cases had tripled since early September, rising from 221 to 683 this month. Hospitals are also facing medicine shortages, while 12 health facilities had enough fuel for only about four days.
The deteriorating conditions could worsen hunger, UNICEF warned, saying it had identified 52,000 acutely malnourished children in Taiz this year. Road closures have also halted deliveries of therapeutic food for severely malnourished children.
The Danish Refugee Council warned that worsening water and sanitation conditions could spread beyond Taiz to overcrowded displacement sites in the governorates of Taiz, Lahj, Abyan and Aden.
(With agency inputs from Reuters and AP via PTI)
