Egypt’s National Defense Council has agreed to provide support to Saudi Arabia to help it defend against escalating attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, as fighting between the two sides intensifies amid the wider regional conflict.
The council, chaired by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, decided to extend “all possible forms of support” to Saudi Arabia to safeguard its security, according to a presidential statement issued on Sunday. The statement did not specify what form the assistance would take.
Saudi Arabia has been seeking military support from its allies as Houthi rebels continue launching drones and missiles at airports and oil facilities across the kingdom. The attacks have reportedly killed at least 19 people, disrupted thousands of flights and unsettled global markets.
The Egyptian announcement came about a month after a visit by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. On Saturday, el-Sissi called on parliament to authorise him to deploy troops and military equipment abroad.
Meanwhile, Saudi Defence Minister was meeting with the president of the United Arab Emirates on Sunday to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation, the UAE’s state news agency WAM reported. Relations between the two countries have been strained in recent months as they supported different factions within the coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen.
Later on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he had spoken by phone with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty about the latest regional developments.
Civilians caught in escalating violence
The intensifying conflict has raised concerns over civilian safety in both Saudi Arabia and Yemen, where fighting has reignited the civil war.
In Yemen’s northern province of Saada, an airstrike killed at least nine people, including five children and two women, on Sunday, according to the Houthi-run Health Ministry.
Ministry spokesperson Anees al-Asbahi said the strike hit a house in the Sahar district, injuring 19 others, including 11 children. Some of the wounded were in critical condition, he added.
Al-Asbahi blamed Saudi Arabia for the attack, but there was no immediate comment from the kingdom. Houthi-run Al-Masirah television broadcast footage showing people removing debris by hand and rescuing two young people from the rubble.
The rebels claimed that Saudi-led attacks had killed or injured more than 30 people over the previous 24 hours. Houthi military spokesperson Brig Gen Yahya Saree said 110 missiles or airstrikes had targeted civilian locations in Sanaa and other cities. The Associated Press could not independently verify the claims.
In Saudi Arabia, a military helicopter crashed near the southwestern city of Najran, killing both crew members, a military spokesperson said, attributing the incident to a technical malfunction. The Houthis had earlier claimed responsibility for bringing down the aircraft.
Saudi Civil Defense authorities later reported that a projectile fired by the rebels struck a residential area in Najran province, injuring six people.
Both sides trade accusations
The Houthis have renewed attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent weeks, citing the kingdom’s support for Yemen’s internationally recognised government. The rebels have also made territorial gains along Yemen’s Red Sea coast and near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a strategic shipping route connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.
Houthi chief negotiator Mohamed Abdulsalam accused Saudi Arabia of contributing to the escalation. In a social media post on Sunday, he said the rebels had warned Riyadh against attacking Sanaa airport in mid-July.
The strike had prevented an Iranian aircraft carrying a Houthi delegation from landing after the group returned from the funeral of Iran’s supreme leader, who was killed in the opening strikes of the war in February.
Angered by Saudi Arabia’s longstanding blockade, the Houthis subsequently announced their own blockade against the kingdom.
Abdulsalam said Oman had proposed a five-day truce during which the two sides could meet to resolve their differences. According to him, the Houthis had agreed to suspend attacks if Saudi Arabia met their humanitarian demands, though he did not elaborate on those conditions.
He alleged that Riyadh had shown no willingness to respond positively to the demands, after which the rebels launched an offensive along the Red Sea coast.
A Saudi diplomat said last week that the kingdom had invited the Houthis to talks in Oman in July to settle outstanding disputes and end the escalation, but the rebels declined to attend.
Meanwhile, Al-Azhar, Egypt’s leading Sunni Muslim religious institution, called on Sunday for the establishment of an urgent mediation committee to help end conflicts across the Arab region.