Saudi Arabia's Civil Defence said on Saturday that two people were wounded and a mosque and several buildings were damaged after a projectile fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels struck the southern Jazan region. The projectile landed in al-Tuwal governorate, also damaging several vehicles, the agency added.

A Civil Defence spokesperson called the targeting of civilian objects a "flagrant violation of international humanitarian law," adding that established emergency procedures had been implemented. The wounded received medical treatment, and security measures were heightened in the affected areas.

The Houthis claimed their attack targeted a Saudi military base in Sharurah, in the southern Najran province. However, Saudi officials did not confirm this, emphasizing that civilians were harmed in the strike. Later, Civil Defence said the danger had passed in Khamis Mushait governorate after a warning was issued for residents there.

The Iran-backed Houthis have launched missile and drone strikes on southern Saudi Arabia in recent days. On Tuesday, the group struck civilian and economic facilities in the Saudi cities of Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran, wounding 73 people, including women and children.

The strikes on the kingdom are part of a rapid escalation in Yemen's long-running conflict, which reignited in July after roughly four years of relative calm under a United Nations-brokered truce. Houthi fighters have taken control of Yemen's entire Red Sea coast, seizing the strategic port city of Mocha, while Yemeni government forces have opened new fronts in al-Jawf, Marib and al-Bayda.

More than 500 people have been killed and tens of thousands displaced in the fighting, according to the International Organization for Migration and local officials. The UN Security Council held an emergency session on the crisis this month, as Special Envoy Hans Grundberg warned Yemen faces "a new and more dangerous phase of war."

Source: www.aljazeera.com