Aden (South24 Center)

The Houthis escalated their attacks in the Red Sea and on the Al-Dhalea fronts overnight Wednesday into Thursday, announcing that they had targeted two Saudi oil tankers in a development that effectively ends the fragile de-escalation in place since 2022.

The maritime attack coincided with a Houthi ground assault west of Al-Dhalea Governorate, which killed four members of the Southern forces and wounded ten others. Four Houthi fighters were also killed.

In a statement, the Houthi military spokesperson said the group targeted the oil tankers ENCELIA and LAYLA in the Red Sea using ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones, alleging that the vessels had violated a maritime ban imposed by the group on ships linked to Saudi Arabia.

The statement claimed that the strikes hit both tankers accurately and caused major fires aboard them. It added that Houthi forces had compelled around ten other vessels to turn back, without providing independent evidence to substantiate the claims.

A map showing the navigational position of the Saudi vessel ENCELIA in the Red Sea near the Yemeni border - marinetraffic (SS: South24 Center)

In an advisory partially corresponding with the Houthi announcement, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said the master of a tanker reported that the vessel had been struck by an unidentified projectile, causing a fire that the crew was working to extinguish.

UKMTO said the incident occurred at 8:00 p.m. GMT on Wednesday, approximately 70 nautical miles southwest of the Saudi city of Al-Shuqaiq. No injuries or environmental damage were reported. The agency did not identify the tanker or attribute responsibility for the attack.

At the same time, the Houthis launched an assault on Southern forces’ positions along the western fronts of Al-Dhalea Governorate. According to the media center of the Al-Dhalea Combat Axis, the attack killed four Southern soldiers and wounded ten others, while four Houthi fighters were killed.

The Southern forces said they had repelled the assault and forced the attackers to retreat. However, clashes were still continuing along some fronts as of 1:15 a.m. on Thursday, July 23.

The maritime attack followed the Houthis’ announcement on Monday, July 20, of a ban on ships heading to Saudi ports through the Red Sea and Bab Al-Mandab. Riyadh responded by pledging to deal firmly with any threat to international navigation.

The threats also prompted several tankers carrying Saudi oil to alter course and sail north toward the Suez Canal.

The ban was preceded by an escalation that began with a dispute over direct Iranian flights to Sanaa. The runway at Sanaa International Airport was subsequently targeted on July 13 to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing, after which the Houthis launched missiles and drones toward Saudi Arabia’s Abha International Airport.

Those attacks were the first publicly claimed Houthi strikes against Saudi Arabia since the start of the unofficial truce in 2022.

In 2023, Saudi Arabia reached direct understandings with the Houthis in a process that largely sidelined its other Yemeni allies. However, those understandings appear to have faltered amid the group’s continued intransigence and enduring ties with Iran.

Tehran is currently engaged in a broad maritime confrontation with the United States and has increasingly responded to US attacks by targeting Gulf states and Jordan, further linking the renewed escalation in Yemen to the wider regional conflict.

The rapid expansion of the escalation from Saudi and Yemeni airports to maritime navigation in the Red Sea, alongside the Iran-aligned Houthi militia’s continued intensification of attacks on the Al-Dhalea fronts, signals the collapse of the fragile truce and raises the prospect of renewed confrontation across the border, internal battlefronts, and strategic maritime routes.