The American Wall Street Journal quoted a high-ranking Saudi official as saying that his country is holding daily talks with the Houthis in Yemen, and has invited representatives of them and the legitimate government to peace talks on its soil.
The Saudi ambassador to Yemen, Muhammad Al Jaber, said that the proposal to hold talks to end the war in Yemen is still on the table, despite the escalation of violence at the weekend, but the Houthis have not yet responded to the offer, according to the Saudi ambassador.
Al Jaber said that Saudi officials spoke with their Houthi counterparts yesterday, Monday, to confirm that coalition strikes against Sanaa were in response to the rocket attacks on Saturday, and were not intended to escalate the conflict.
The newspaper quoted the Saudi official as saying that coalition officials have been communicating on a daily basis - since last year - with the Houthis, and that daily contacts started in the wake of the Houthis attack on Aramco's oil facilities.
Yesterday, the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen launched air strikes on Sanaa, and said in a statement published by the Saudi Press Agency that the operation aims to "destroy legitimate military targets" belonging to the Houthi rebels, and "to neutralize and destroy the ballistic threat and the specific capabilities that threaten the lives of civilians."
The Houthi channel, Al-Masirah, reported that the coalition launched at least 19 strikes in Sanaa, targeting the Military College and military bases.
The coalition operation launched after Saudi Arabia intercepted - on Saturday - two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis towards the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and the city of Jizan in the south.
According to Saudi media, the two attacks injured two civilians in Riyadh.