Saudi Arabia launched airstrikes on Yemen’s Houthi-held Red Sea port city of Hudaydah on Friday, July 25, 2026, targeting infrastructure and telecommunications facilities. The military response followed Houthi threats to impose a naval blockade on Saudi shipping lanes, sharply escalating tensions across the region.
Airstrikes Hit Hudaydah and Kamaran Island
Explosions echoed across Yemen’s Red Sea port city of Hudaydah on Friday as Saudi Arabia attacked the Red Sea port city following a reported attack on a Saudi vessel. Houthi-aligned media outlets and eyewitnesses confirmed multiple strikes targeting port facilities, weapons depots, and communications infrastructure.
The Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported that Saudi strikes hit facilities belonging to the state telecommunications corporation in Hudaydah city. According to the group’s Al-Masirah television channel, the military operation also struck Kamaran Island off Yemen’s western coast. Saudi channel Al Arabiya reported explosions at weapons depots in the city. A Yemeni source confirmed in a conversation with ynet that the Houthis were behind the attack on the Saudi ship, adding: Maritime navigation systems were targeted at the port of Hudaydah, and according to reports, weapons and fuel depots were also hit, along with many other sites throughout the city.
The Saudi-Led Coalition Response and Port Status
The Saudi-led coalition confirmed it executed a proportionate military response targeting legitimate Houthi military sites. Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Malki stated in a statement that the operation was launched in direct response to what he described as the Houthis’ reckless targeting of commercial vessels in the Red Sea, and was conducted in accordance with international humanitarian law.
At the same time, the coalition pushed back against broader closure reports, insisting that Hodeidah Port was not targeted and all Yemeni ports, including Hodeidah, Ras Isa and Al-Salif, remain open to maritime navigation. Al-Malki added that the Houthis continue to prevent flights from operating at the Sanaa International Airport. The Saudi-led coalition said it would respond “firmly.”
The Naval Blockade Threat and Regional Fallout
On Monday, the Iran-aligned Houthi movement declared a naval embargo against Saudi Arabia, aiming to disrupt shipping lanes. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said on Monday: The Houthi forces announce a naval embargo against the Saudi enemy, based on the equation of ‘an eye for an eye.’ We affirm our people’s right to respond to a blockade with a blockade and to respond to any escalation with escalation.
The escalation between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia began about a week and a half ago following a Saudi strike on the international airport in Sanaa, which the Houthis said was intended to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing there, as part of a blockade Riyadh attempted to impose to isolate them. Hours after the Saudi attack, the Houthis launched missiles toward Saudi airports in retaliation.
“A port for a port, an airport for an airport. Any escalation will be met with a more severe escalation.”
Hazam al-Asad, Houthi senior figure
The conflict risks undoing relative calm established after a 2022 truce halted most major fighting in a war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people through violence, hunger and disease. Saudi Arabia previously led a broad bombing campaign against the Houthis, Iran’s allies, after the rebels seized the capital Sanaa in late 2014 and ousted the internationally recognized government, viewing it as a direct threat to its security and regional influence before entering the 2015 intervention.
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