The leader of Yemen’s Ansarullah movement says Saudi Arabia is deliberately committing crimes against the Yemeni people with the participation of the United States and the Israeli regime, warning that Riyadh’s continued aggression would carry a high cost. 

Sayyed Abdul-Malik Badr al-Din al-Houthi made the remarks in a speech marking the 10th anniversary of the Saudi-American coalition’s deadly attack on the Great Hall in Sana’a in 2016, which he said killed and wounded around 1,000 people.

He said all Yemeni provinces have witnessed Saudi crimes against humanity and war crimes during the ongoing aggression, adding Riyadh has returned to its previous pattern of “brutally targeting students, women and children” since the renewed escalation.

“Saudi Arabia, with the participation of the United States and the Israeli regime, deliberately commits crimes against the Yemeni people,” al-Houthi said, describing the Saudi approach to Yemen as based on a “Zionist, evil and oppressive model.”

He also criticized Saudi Arabia’s claim to champion Islam and serve as custodian of the two holy mosques, saying the sword depicted on its national flag has never been drawn against the enemies of the Islamic Ummah.

“When has this Saudi aggressor ever demonstrated genuine military resistance to US and Israeli actions?” he asked.

Al-Houthi said the Saudi government has an “addiction to shedding the blood of innocent people” and called on Muslim nations to regard Saudi Arabia as a criminal regime. He warned that those supporting Riyadh would also bear responsibility for its aggression and wrongdoing.

According to al-Houthi, Saudi Arabia is seeking to break the Yemeni people’s resolve and force them to surrender, but has failed to achieve that objective.

“Twelve years of aggression show that every time the Saudi enemy sheds more Yemeni blood, the proud people of Yemen become more determined to confront the aggressor,” he said.

The Ansarullah leader said Yemen’s opponents are angered by the country’s assertion of sovereignty over its territory. Saudi Arabia, he said, is also threatening international maritime security by turning the Bab al-Mandeb region into a war zone.

“Our position is strong, and we are inflicting the harshest blows on Saudi forces,” al-Houthi said, warning that “the more Saudi Arabia insists on aggression and blockade, the more it will suffer.”

He further warned that Saudi Arabia could face losses in its oil exports and that its oil facilities and military bases could come under attack.

Al-Houthi called on Yemenis to take part in mass demonstrations in the capital Sana’a and across the country on Friday to reaffirm their opposition to aggression and blockade and to condemn Saudi actions.

Yemen forces repel Saudi-backed militias near Bab al-Mandab, inflicting heavy losses

Yemeni forces say they have repelled an advance by Saudi-backed mercenaries toward positions near the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait.

The Yemeni leader also said Ansarullah is prepared to support the Palestinian people “at the highest level of options and positions” in the event of any future Israeli escalation.

After intervening militarily, Saudi Arabia imposed a land, air and sea blockade on Yemen; the United States joined that blockade in October 2016 before later claiming to have stepped back.

Sana’a’s decision to break the siege was met with Saudi bombing of the capital’s airport and a decisive response from Yemeni forces.

In subsequent operations, they pushed back Saudi mercenaries, captured the historic port of al-Mukha and the coastal area of Kahboub, and retook a number of strategic islands.

Those gains have consolidated Yemeni control over approaches to the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, one of the world’s most important shipping lanes, and demonstrated that the era of one-sided Saudi attacks on Yemeni soil has ended.

In one of the most recent developments, Saudi authorities have confirmed that operations by Yemen’s armed forces against two of the kingdom’s international airports killed three people and wounded at least 36 others, underscoring the growing cost of Riyadh’s years-long aggression against Yemen.

The kingdom’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said on Thursday morning that facilities at Abha International Airport and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh were struck on Tuesday and Wednesday.