Houthis accuse Saudi strikes of killing civilians and prisoners as conflict forces mass displacement

Houthis say Saudi airstrikes killed six civilians, including two children, in Mocha and wounded a mother, her husband and two other children in Al‑Batin. They also report a prison strike that left nine detainees dead. Two more civilians died in Al‑Jawf province. Fighting in the past two days has killed a total of 154 people, according to military sources on both sides; Houthi figures put 118 deaths from Saudi air, artillery and ground attacks, while Yemeni government sources count 36 of their own fighters killed. The United Nations warned that displaced people could rise from over 130,000 today to more than 230,000 in the coming months as Houthis tighten control of Yemen’s Red Sea coast. Their advance secures Iran‑aligned hold over the Bab al‑Mandab and Hormuz straits, key routes for global energy shipments. Saudi Arabia, backing Yemen’s internationally recognised government, has responded with airstrikes and a civil‑defence alert near the Yemen border, later lifted. King Salman praised Saudi forces and called the Houthis a terrorist militia after accusing them of targeting Mecca, a claim the rebels deny. G7 leaders urged the Houthis to stop all attacks on civilian shipping and return to political talks, and asked Tehran to halt support for the group. Britain will give limited military aid to Saudi Arabia and France will help protect Saudi energy infrastructure, though neither will join the fighting directly. The Houthis have also hit Saudi Aramco facilities in Yanbu. Yemen’s government and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have asked US President Donald Trump for help; Trump is slated to meet Gulf Cooperation Council leaders in New York at the UN General Assembly.