In the latest toll of its operations, the Yemeni army announced the execution of 1,382 targeting operations over the past hours, which it said resulted in the neutralization of about 440 Houthi leaders and members, and the destruction and disabling of 146 vehicles and combat equipment.
The escalation extended to Saudi Arabia, where the coalition supporting the Yemeni government announced the interception of ballistic missiles and drones launched by the Houthi group toward the Kingdom, while the group announced the execution of attacks targeting Saudi military sites and vital facilities.
Coinciding with field developments, the United Nations announced that the number of displaced persons due to renewed fighting has risen to 281,000 since last July, amid warnings of a worsening humanitarian crisis and difficulties in delivering aid.
In the latest field developments, the government's "Nation Shield" forces announced on Tuesday evening the execution of a lightning military operation in the Bab al-Mandab axis, in cooperation with the Southern Giants Brigades.
The forces said in a statement that the operation resulted in the control of a number of hills and strategic commanding positions in the axis.
They added that "the Houthi militia suffered losses in lives and equipment," without specifying the toll.
The Bab al-Mandab axis gains strategic importance due to its oversight of one of the most important international maritime passages, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.
In Taiz Governorate, the army's Taiz Military Axis announced on Tuesday evening that it had thwarted an attack launched by the Houthi group on the villages of Kahlan and Hamma in the Al-Masrakh district, south of the governorate.
The axis said in a statement that army forces, supported by the Popular Resistance, thwarted "an attack launched by the terrorist Houthi militia" on the two villages, without providing further details.
In another statement, the Media Center of the Yemeni Armed Forces announced that army units and the Popular Resistance continued on Tuesday to comb the positions they had recaptured on Monday on the Al-Dhabab front, west of Taiz city.
The army had announced on Monday the recapture of strategic positions on the Al-Dhabab front, including Al-Maidan hill, which overlooks the road connecting Taiz to the interim capital, Aden.
The center added that warplanes launched several raids on Houthi sites, gatherings, and vehicles on the Al-Aqroud and Same' fronts, south of Taiz.
The army's drones and artillery also continued to target Houthi sites, fortifications, gatherings, and military vehicles, according to the statement.
It indicated that the Al-Shaqab front and other sites east of Taiz city witnessed an exchange of artillery shelling between the army and the Houthis on Tuesday, amid the continuation of military operations on various fronts.
Later, the spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Colonel Majed Al-Nuzaili, announced in a statement the execution of 1,382 targeting operations as part of the "Dawn of Yemen" operation over the past hours.
He explained that the operations targeted field command centers, fortifications, sources of fire, mobilizations, reserves, Houthi reinforcements, and their means of movement and supply.
Al-Nuzaili said that the operations resulted in "neutralizing about 440 of the militia's leaders and members," in addition to destroying and disabling 146 vehicles, military transport vehicles, pieces of heavy weaponry, and combat equipment.
He added that the operations thwarted Houthi attempts to recapture positions they had lost in Taiz and resulted in new field progress and strengthened fire control over a number of positions and commanding heights.
On the Bab al-Mandab, Dhubab, and Al-Madaribah fronts, Al-Nuzaili said that army forces thwarted Houthi infiltration attempts and targeted their reinforcements and military vehicles.
There was no immediate comment from the Houthi group regarding the toll announced by the army or the details of the field progress in Taiz.
Taiz, one of the most populous Yemeni governorates, is witnessing a division of control between government forces and the Houthi group.
Government forces control the governorate's center, Taiz city, and other areas, while the Houthis have achieved progress in rural and coastal areas over the past weeks, including areas in Al-Mukha, Al-Shamayatayn, Al-Ma'afir, Jabal Habashi, and Al-Wazi'iyah, according to available field data.
Unofficial field estimates indicate that the scope of Houthi control has expanded to more than 70 percent of the governorate's area, against a retreat in government forces' control in rural and coastal areas.
However, this percentage is not based on an official census or a final map of control areas, in light of the ongoing battles and changing contact lines.
In a related context, the government's Giants Forces announced the downing of a Houthi winged drone on the Dhubab front, which overlooks the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
The forces published footage of the drone's wreckage on their account on the American platform "X," without providing further details about the circumstances of its downing.
In another development, the private Yemeni website "Al-Masdar Online" reported the death of a child as a result of an attack by a drone it attributed to the Houthi group in Jabal Sabr, south of Taiz Governorate.
The website quoted unnamed local sources as saying that the child, Taha Abdullah Mohammed Al-Wutairi, was killed after being targeted by a drone in the area.
The sources added that the attack coincided with continuous artillery shelling on the village of Wutair in Jabal Sabr.
The military escalation extended to Saudi Arabia, where the Civil Defense announced on Tuesday evening that material damage had occurred to a building, a project under construction, and a vehicle in the city of Riyadh, as a result of falling debris from two ballistic missiles after they were intercepted.
The Civil Defense said in a statement that it had dealt with the falling debris of two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthi group after they were intercepted and destroyed.
It explained that the debris caused material damage to a building, a project under construction, and a vehicle, noting that approved procedures were taken in such cases.
During Tuesday, the Saudi Civil Defense issued 9 early warnings to warn of dangers of an unspecified nature in 6 locations in the Kingdom, including Riyadh, Najran, Khamis Mushait, and Abha, before later announcing that the danger had passed.
Earlier on Tuesday, the "Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen" announced the interception and destruction of two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthi group toward the capital, Riyadh.
The coalition also announced on Tuesday morning the interception of 4 drones and 3 ballistic missiles that it said the Houthis had launched toward the Kingdom.
In contrast, the Houthi group announced on Tuesday the execution of a series of ballistic missile attacks targeting military sites and vital facilities in Saudi Arabia.
The group's military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said in separate statements via the "X" platform that Houthi forces targeted two military transport aircraft with two ballistic missiles, one at Najran Airport and the other at King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait.
Saree claimed that the two attacks "successfully achieved their objectives," without providing details on losses or damage.
He also announced the targeting of the Ras Tanura refinery in the Saudi Eastern Province with a ballistic missile, claiming that the hit was precise and caused massive fires at the site.
In another statement, the Houthi spokesperson said that the group targeted the Saudi Ministry of Defense in the capital, Riyadh, with a ballistic missile, claiming a direct hit.
Saree did not provide independent evidence to prove the results of these attacks, and the toll of the damage he announced could not be verified.
Regarding the fighting fronts inside Yemen, Saree said that the group's forces repelled an "advancement attempt" carried out by military forces from the southern direction of the Bab al-Mandab area.
He added that the Houthis targeted the advancing forces with ballistic missiles and heavy weapons, claiming that the shelling resulted in a large number of deaths and injuries and the destruction of military vehicles.
On the humanitarian front, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced on Tuesday that the number of displaced persons due to the escalating fighting in Yemen has risen to 281,000 since last July.
This came in a written response from UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch to questions from an Anadolu Agency correspondent regarding the increase in displacement and the possibility of reaching Taiz city in the country's southwest.
Baloch said that the numbers of displaced persons are constantly increasing as fighting intensifies and spreads to new fronts.
He added: "The number has reached 281,000 to date, and it continues to rise week after week," since last July.
He explained that these are in addition to more than 5.2 million people who were already displaced within Yemen before the recent escalation.
He pointed out that the fighting and the deteriorating security situation in Taiz and its surroundings limit access to the area and have also caused the closure of main roads.
He said: "The UNHCR does not have field staff in Taiz. We have a partner organization in the city, but its activities are very limited due to the deteriorating security situation."
Baloch emphasized that the situation in Yemen is rapidly changing, and that data regarding displacement changes day by day according to field developments.
Since last July, military escalation has renewed between government forces and the Houthis in Yemen, especially in the governorates of Taiz and Lahj in the country's southwest, resulting in the death and injury of thousands of people, according to UN reports.
The escalation has broken the state of relative calm that Yemen has witnessed since the start of the truce in April 2022, while the humanitarian crisis has worsened with the continuation of clashes and the expansion of displacement waves.
Since October 5, the "Dawn of Yemen" military operation has been ongoing, which the Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, said aims to restore state institutions from the Houthis and take control of the capital, Sanaa.
Yemen has been witnessing a war since the Houthis took control of the capital, Sanaa, and several governorates in September 2014, before a Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government.
