The Saudi-led coalition forces announced the start of an immediate military operation after the Houthis' threats and their attempt to target civilians in Jizan and Najran, and confirmed the killing of more than 200 Houthis during the past 24 hours.
The announcement of the start of this operation came late on Friday evening, hours after the coalition announced the fall of a projectile fired by the Houthis on an industrial workshop in the city of Jizan in southern Saudi Arabia, which led to the death of a Saudi and a resident and the injury of others.
The coalition had previously announced the fall of a hostile projectile in one of the border villages in Najran (southern Saudi Arabia), noting that no casualties were reported, while a vehicle belonging to a citizen was damaged.
The statement indicated that what it described as the two hostile attempts in Najran and Jizan, which were launched from the city of Saada (the stronghold of the Houthis in northern Yemen), and the coalition indicated that it is in the process of carrying out air strikes to deal with the source of the threat.
And in the past, projectiles that the coalition says are fired by the Houthis have repeatedly fallen, and some of them have left civilian casualties.
Civil Defense: Two deaths, injury of (7) civilians and material damage as a result of the fall of a hostile projectile fired by the terrorist Houthi militia on civilian objects in Samtah Governorate, Jazan region. https://t.co/4uDp045YBX# SPA_Am pic.twitter.com/vsHuGnf7hh
- SPAregions (@SPAregions) December 24, 2021
military moves
In light of its military movements, the coalition announced the destruction of two caves for storing ballistic missiles and weapons in Saada Governorate, as well as the destruction of 4 stores of ballistic missiles and drones in Al-Mahwit Governorate, north of Yemen.
According to Houthi media, a coalition raid in Al-Mahwit, northern Yemen, led to a number of deaths and injuries, including children and women.
According to the coalition, 243 Houthis were killed during the past 24 hours in Ma'rib Governorate, central Yemen.
Since last February, the Houthis have doubled their attacks in Marib to control it, as it is the most important stronghold of the government and the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense, in addition to its enjoyment of oil and gas wealth, and the Marib gas station, which before the war supplied most of the governorates with electricity.
For its part, the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate announced that two journalists were injured, while covering the battles between the army and the Houthi militia in the central province of Ma'rib.
Previous coalition raids targeted Sanaa (Reuters)
war and losses
Yemen has been witnessing for nearly 7 years a continuous war between pro-government forces backed by an Arab military coalition led by Saudi Arabia, and the Iranian-backed Houthis, who have controlled several governorates, including Sanaa, since September 2014.
The United Nations says that by the end of 2021, the war in Yemen will have killed 377,000 people directly and indirectly.
The war has cost the country's economy $126 billion, in one of the worst humanitarian and economic crises in the world, with most of the population of 30 million dependent on aid, according to the United Nations.