Arab Coalition Says over 260 Houthis Killed in Marib Fighting

A fighter loyal to the legitimate Yemeni government mans a position at the Al-Jawba front line facing Iran-backed Houthi militias in the country’s northeastern province of Marib, on October 23, 2021. (AFP)
A fighter loyal to the legitimate Yemeni government mans a position at the Al-Jawba front line facing Iran-backed Houthi militias in the country’s northeastern province of Marib, on October 23, 2021. (AFP)
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Arab Coalition Says over 260 Houthis Killed in Marib Fighting

A fighter loyal to the legitimate Yemeni government mans a position at the Al-Jawba front line facing Iran-backed Houthi militias in the country’s northeastern province of Marib, on October 23, 2021. (AFP)
A fighter loyal to the legitimate Yemeni government mans a position at the Al-Jawba front line facing Iran-backed Houthi militias in the country’s northeastern province of Marib, on October 23, 2021. (AFP)

The Saudi-led Arab coalition said on Sunday its air strikes had killed more than 260 Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen in the past three days.

The deaths are the latest among roughly 1,600 Houthis the coalition claims it has killed in strikes over the past two weeks around Marib.

"Thirty-six military vehicles were destroyed and more than 264" rebel fighters were killed in the past 72 hours, the coalition said, quoted by the official Saudi Press Agency.

The strikes were carried out in Al-Jawba, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Marib, and Al-Kassara, 30 kilometers to the northwest.

The UN Security Council called on Wednesday for "de-escalation" in Yemen, in a unanimously adopted statement to counter the risk of "large-scale famine" in the country.

The 15 council members demanded an immediate nationwide ceasefire, and sought an end to the Marib escalation.

Saudi Arabia had proposed a ceasefire initiative early in the year but the Houthis have repeatedly ignored calls for calm and peace.

"The members of the Security Council expressed grave concern for the dire humanitarian situation, including prolonged starvation and the growing risk of large-scale famine," said the Security Council statement.

They also "condemned the recruitment and use of children, and sexual violence, in conflict".

The UN children’s agency UNICEF last week said that seven years of conflict in Yemen had killed or wounded at least 10,000 children.

The figure only included child victims whose fates were known to the organization, and there were countless others, UNICEF spokesman James Elder said in Geneva.

"The war must come to an end," he said.



Houthis in Yemen Say They Won’t End Support for Gaza

 Houthi supporters chant slogans during a weekly anti-US and anti-Israel rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)
Houthi supporters chant slogans during a weekly anti-US and anti-Israel rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)
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Houthis in Yemen Say They Won’t End Support for Gaza

 Houthi supporters chant slogans during a weekly anti-US and anti-Israel rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)
Houthi supporters chant slogans during a weekly anti-US and anti-Israel rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)

A top leader of the Iran-backed-Houthi militias in Yemen said they will keep up their support for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip until Israeli “aggression stops, and the siege is lifted.”

“Our operations in support of Gaza will not cease, no matter the sacrifices,” said Mahdi al-Mashat in a statement Wednesday.

The Houthis are the last militant group in Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” that is capable of regularly attacking Israel.

They have been firing long-range missiles at Israel in the months since it resumed the war in Gaza, setting off air raid sirens but generally causing few casualties. They have also been attacking shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.