SANAA — The Houthi rebel group launched missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia’s Abha International Airport on July 13, 2026, ending what had been a mostly stable de-escalation phase in Yemen’s protracted civil conflict. The attack followed airstrikes on Sanaa International Airport earlier that same day, which the Houthis blamed on Saudi Arabia, though Yemen’s internationally recognized government claimed responsibility for those strikes.

The July 13 exchange marked a sharp escalation after weeks of rising tensions. Yemen’s internationally recognized government and the Houthi movement had begun mobilizing fighters in late June 2026. Their tensions appeared to center on a disputed Iranian flight: the first publicly announced commercial flight between Tehran and Sanaa in more than a decade landed in the Houthi-held capital on July 3, 2026.

Rashad al-Alimi, leader of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, later accused the Houthis of receiving the Iranian plane “outside the legal and sovereign frameworks governing civil aviation.” He also said the government had rejected a request from Iran to return a Houthi delegation. The Houthis, in turn, accused Saudi Arabia of trying to prevent an Iranian plane from carrying a Houthi delegation to Tehran for the funeral of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. That plane was diverted and landed safely at another Yemeni airport on July 13.

On July 14, Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree announced via Telegram that the group had downed a Saudi reconnaissance aircraft at dawn in Al Bayda province. Saree declared, “The de-escalation phase of Yemen’s war was over,” and added, “The Houthis are prepared to confront any violation of Yemen's airspace.” The group’s strikes on Abha International Airport were explicitly framed as retaliation for the earlier bombing of Sanaa International Airport. No casualties were reported from the July 13 exchange of fire.

Yemeni defense Minister Taher al-Aqili defended his government’s actions, stating, “The government’s patience has run out.” Saudi Arabian officials did not respond to a request for comment about the airstrikes in Yemen. The internationally recognized government controls much of southern Yemen, while the Houthis, a Zaydi Shia Islamist organization backed by Iran, hold the capital Sanaa and most of the north—a division that has persisted since the civil war began in 2014. A Saudi-led coalition intervened the following year to restore the government, but a truce that largely held since 2022 had previously curbed major hostilities.

The breakdown of Yemen’s de-escalation phase threatens to reignite a regional conflict with global implications. Analysts say the Houthis’ ability to strike Saudi infrastructure and control airspace near critical Red Sea shipping lanes gives them leverage. The group’s actions appear designed to test red lines broader Middle Eastern tensions, including the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran. With Yemen divided between rival authorities and lacking full control over its airspace and maritime zones, the country remains a flashpoint for proxy confrontations that could disrupt international trade and regional stability.