Saudi Arabia launches dozens of air strikes in Yemen as Houthis choke oil routes

Yemen's civil war has flared back into a violent, high-stakes conflict, with Houthi rebels claiming Saudi Arabia launched 26 air strikes against their positions in a single 24-hour period. The barrage brings the total number of coalition strikes to 300 over the past week, marking a severe escalation in a war that had been largely frozen for two years.

This sudden intensification follows a lightning Houthi offensive earlier this month. The group captured most of Yemen's Red Sea coast, giving them control of the critical Bab al-Mandab strait. From this vantage point, the rebels have declared a maritime blockade on all Saudi vessels. Though the Houthis claim other international shipping remains free to pass, the threat has already choked off a vital alternative corridor for Saudi oil exports.

The blockade has hit Saudi Arabia where it hurts most. The strategic Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries a fifth of the world's oil, has been closed since late February 2026, when a war between the United States and Iran broke out. With Hormuz shut, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have had to rely on overland pipelines to get their crude to deep-water ports.

Currently, two major pipelines keep the region's oil flowing to global markets. The UAE operates the 360-kilometre Habshan-Fujairah pipeline, carrying 1.5 million barrels a day to the Gulf of Oman. Saudi Arabia relies on its 1,200-kilometre East-West pipeline, which can pump 5 million barrels a day to the Red Sea. But even this bypass is no longer safe: Houthi forces have repeatedly targeted the East-West pipeline in recent weeks, severely disrupting Saudi exports.

In response, Gulf states are scrambling to build their way out of the crisis. State-run Engineers India Limited (EIL) has confirmed it is bidding on a series of major pipeline and storage projects in both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, designed specifically to bypass the Strait of Hormuz entirely. Atul Gupta, EIL's chairman, said on Friday that these projects are expected to see more than $1 billion in immediate investment, with a construction timeline of two to three years.

Why the bypass pipelines are critical

The UAE plans to double its export capacity through Fujairah by 2027, while Saudi Arabia is working to expand its western Red Sea network. For EIL, which set up a permanent office in Saudi Arabia in February and holds a long-term services agreement with Saudi Aramco, the crisis represents a massive commercial opportunity. International consulting already accounted for nearly 62 per cent of the fresh business the Indian firm secured in the last financial year.

Meanwhile, the human cost of the revived fighting in Yemen is mounting rapidly. The United Nations reported on Friday that the renewed clashes have displaced more than 112,000 people, with thousands fleeing across the sea to Djibouti. Despite the Houthi blockade, some oil is still slipping through; maritime tracking data shows that while Saudi shipments through the Bab al-Mandab have plummeted since July, five loaded tankers did manage to navigate the strait last week.