Yemen’s Houthi rebels have said Saudi Arabia carried out 26 strikes against areas under their control in the past 24 hours, AFP reported. The two sides continue trading attacks amid an escalating war in Yemen.

On Friday, the group claimed Saudi strikes on Houthi-held territory had reached 300 over the past week alone. Yemen’s Saudi-backed government said its forces killed 30 Houthi rebels and wounded more than 60 in clashes in the al-Wazi’iyah district of Taiz province, one of several active fronts.

Tens of thousands marched through Sanaa on Friday in support of the Iran-backed Houthis and against Saudi Arabia. The rebels are pressing gains that have brought large stretches of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, including the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait, under their control.

Earlier this week, the intensifying attacks killed at least five people, including three children. Saudi Arabia said one person was killed in Taif governorate after a Houthi drone was intercepted, while Houthi-linked media reported deaths from Saudi strikes in Taiz and the town of Abs.

The escalation has drawn in Washington, though reluctantly. US officials met Houthi representatives at the US embassy in Muscat over the weekend after the group’s rapid territorial gains raised concern over shipping through Bab al-Mandeb. The Houthis reportedly assured Washington that vessels not linked to Saudi Arabia would not be targeted.

Despite appeals from Riyadh for US President Donald Trump to strike the Houthis directly, Washington has so far held back. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Friday the bloc’s Red Sea naval mission, Operation Aspides, had raised its alert level. “Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia are unacceptable and sabotage the global economy,” Kallas said. She added she had spoken with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud about diplomatic efforts to end the fighting and restore freedom of navigation.

Source: www.aljazeera.com