Loud explosions shook Yemen's capital on Saturday, October 3, as Houthi-run media accused Saudi Arabia of pounding Sanaa with dozens of airstrikes. Two correspondents in the city reported hearing blasts across different districts and seeing warplanes firing missiles, while the Houthi health ministry said strikes near a maternity hospital had caused severe damage. Hours later, flames and black smoke rose from a Saudi Aramco refinery on the outskirts of Riyadh, in the most violent single day of cross-border escalation the conflict has seen in months.
Table of Contents
- A capital under fire
- Hospital and presidential palace reportedly hit
- Aramco burns near Riyadh
- The offensive Riyadh is weighing
- Why the strait matters
- Key takeaways
- Sources
- Read also
A capital under fire
According to Agence France-Presse, one correspondent in Sanaa heard at least five explosions in different parts of the capital, while another watched two warplanes fire missiles over the city. The Houthi-affiliated channel Al-Masirah described the strikes as "Saudi aggression" against the capital, reporting that "Saudi enemy aircraft" hit Sanaa with 26 strikes. The Houthi-run Saba news agency put the figure far higher, claiming Saudi forces had carried out 94 airstrikes across Houthi-held regions in the last 24 hours — though those claims have not been independently verified.
Sanaa has been under Houthi control for more than a decade, and Saturday's bombardment marks a sharp return to airstrikes on the capital itself after months in which the heaviest fighting had concentrated on the Red Sea coast and around Taiz.
Hospital and presidential palace reportedly hit
The claims of collateral damage arrived fast. The Houthi health ministry said in a statement that strikes had severely damaged the Al Sabin Maternal-Child Hospital, striking around noon during peak healthcare hours. "Attacking hospitals and healthcare facilities constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law," the ministry said, according to the Spanish outlet Demócrata.
Local sources cited by the Yemeni portal South24 said several projectiles had also struck the Presidential Palace in Sanaa — the Houthis' main seat of power in the capital. Meanwhile, the internationally recognised government based in Aden confirmed it had carried out "an attack against legitimate vital military targets in the capital" with Saudi support, without offering further details.
Neither Saudi officials nor Aramco had commented on the allegations by Saturday evening.
Aramco burns near Riyadh
While Sanaa shook, the war reached deep into Saudi Arabia. An AFP journalist in Riyadh reported seeing flames and smoke rising from a facility belonging to state oil giant Aramco south of the Saudi capital on Saturday afternoon, with firefighters battling the blaze as ambulances and police vehicles gathered nearby.
No one immediately claimed responsibility, and the circumstances remained unclear — but the fire came amid renewed Houthi attacks on Saudi cities and energy infrastructure. The Houthis have claimed several strikes on Aramco facilities in recent months, including at the Red Sea port of Yanbu. In Saudi territory, the kingdom's civil defence service also reported an attack against a mosque in Asir — where one person was injured — and another against a school in Najran, according to Demócrata.
The exchange follows an accusation by the Saudi-led coalition that the Houthis had targeted a power distribution station in Medina supplying electricity to the Prophet's Mosque — an allegation the Houthis denied.
The offensive Riyadh is weighing
Saturday's violence may be the prelude to something larger. Reuters reported this week that Saudi Arabia is actively considering a major military offensive against the Houthis, including a coastal operation to retake control of the Bab el-Mandeb strait or coordinated attacks across several fronts — Al-Bayda, Marib, Taiz and Al-Jawf.
Citing six people familiar with the preparations, the reporting described a ground operation led by Yemeni forces overseen by Riyadh, backed by Saudi air power, potentially mobilising more than 100,000 Yemeni troops. The United States, for now, has stopped short of directly joining any offensive, while continuing to provide intelligence and defensive assistance.
The plans aim to reverse Houthi advances last month, when the group moved down Yemen's coast and seized the strait in a lightning offensive that redrew the conflict's map.
Why the strait matters
The Bab el-Mandeb is one of the world's most critical maritime chokepoints, linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Every day, oil and goods bound for the Suez Canal — and from there to Europe — must pass through it. Whoever holds it holds leverage over global trade flows and energy prices.
For Saudi Arabia, the calculus has shifted: Houthi control of Yemen's entire Red Sea coast puts the kingdom's western seaboard and its own shipping within missile range. For the Houthis, backed by Iran, the strait is both a strategic asset and a bargaining chip. Saturday's strikes on both capitals show that neither side is willing to wait for the other to make the first move.
Key takeaways
- Sanaa bombarded: The Houthis accuse Saudi Arabia of dozens of airstrikes on Yemen's capital on Saturday, including strikes near a hospital and the presidential palace.
- Aramco refinery fire: Flames and smoke were seen rising from an Aramco facility south of Riyadh, unclaimed and unexplained.
- Casualties and targets disputed: Houthi-run media reports no casualties in Sanaa so far; claims of 94 strikes in 24 hours are unverified.
- A wider offensive looms: Reuters reports Riyadh is weighing a major operation involving over 100,000 Yemeni troops to retake Bab el-Mandeb.
- Global stakes: Control of the strait affects shipping and energy markets worldwide.
Sources
- Le Pays de France / AFP — "Houthis say Saudi Arabia launches dozens of strikes on Yemen capital"
- Demócrata — "Yemen: bombings between Houthis and Saudi Arabia intensify"
- 10BM News — "Powerful Explosions Rock Yemen's Capital Sanaa: Report"
- News Tracker 24x7 — "Saudi Arabia-Houthi Conflict: Riyadh Plans Major Offensive"
