A member of Houthi security forces mans a machine gun mounted on the back of a patrol vehicle at the site of an anti-Saudi rally amid an escalation with the kingdom, in Sanaa, Yemen, July 31, 2026. The Houthis also claimed responsibility for Thursday's attacks, saying they struck Saudi military deployments in the two provinces after detecting what they described as a large Saudi military buildup ahead of an escalation against areas under their control. He urged all sides to exercise maximum restraint and engage in UN-led negotiations, warning that the violence risked drawing Yemen deeper into a wider regional confrontation. The Houthis declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea last month in response to what they described as a Saudi siege of Yemen, an allegation Riyadh denies. Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition backing Yemen's internationally recognised government since 2015, after the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, in 2014.