Saudi strikes on Houthi fuel depots light up Sanaa sky

The strike in Sanaa (Photo: Section 27a)

A massive fireball erupted over the rooftops of Sanaa, Yemen's capital, illuminating the night sky with towering orange flames.

Dramatic footage of the strike, filmed through a window overlooking the city, shows the explosion sending enormous flames skyward before spreading laterally and leaving behind a thick column of black smoke rising above the skyline. Even after the flames subsided, heavy smoke continued to billow over the area for several minutes.

The footage captures the scale of the damage to infrastructure controlled by the Houthis, part of an escalating confrontation between Saudi Arabia and the Iranian-backed group.

According to reports, the Saudi strikes targeted fuel and energy facilities under Houthi control, following advance warnings to residents to evacuate areas designated for attack.

Strikes expand beyond Sanaa

The Saudi-led coalition announced that the strikes were not limited to the Yemeni capital. Additional targets were hit in the Hodeidah port area and in Dhamar province, including fuel depots, storage tanks and energy facilities.

The operation was designed to damage fuel infrastructure controlled by the Houthis, which also serves their military operations.

The Houthis claimed that one strike hit a facility belonging to the Yemeni oil company in al-Sabaha, west of Sanaa. According to reports published following the incident, the storage tanks at the facility were empty at the time of the strike. The full extent of the damage and the possibility of additional casualties remain unclear.

Houthis threaten retaliation against Saudi Arabia

The attack comes amid intensifying conflict between the sides, following a series of Houthi strikes on Saudi targets including energy facilities and Riyadh's international airport.

In response to the strikes, the Houthis threatened to hit airports and refineries in Saudi Arabia, warning that further attacks on Yemen would be met with strikes on Saudi infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia reported intercepting missiles and drones launched toward its territory. Additional reports described a limited fire in an administrative building at a facility belonging to the national oil company Aramco, with no casualties in that incident.