Houthis strike Aden airport as fighting surges across Yemen
Editorial illustration — Press Pass USAYemen's Houthis attacked Aden airport after warning people to evacuate the facility, halting air traffic at the main gateway to southern Yemen, as heavy fighting and airstrikes swept multiple fronts across the country.
Residents of the southern port city, where Yemen's internationally recognized, Saudi-backed government is based, said they heard an explosion near the airport, a humanitarian lifeline for the south. Air traffic was halted after the strike, two transport ministry officials told Reuters, and an aid source said some United Nations staff left the airport shortly before the attack and no one was hurt. The International Organization for Migration said its personnel traveling through Aden were safe and accounted for.
Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a post on X that the evacuation warning was prompted by what he said was the presence of a Saudi military cargo aircraft delivering weapons. There was no immediate comment from Saudi authorities. The Houthis, who control the capital Sanaa and most of northwestern Yemen, have repeatedly targeted Aden airport in the past, and residents said explosions had also been heard elsewhere in the city before the warning.
The airport strike came amid a sharp escalation on the ground. Government forces said they carried out 749 attacks on Houthi command centers, fortifications, vehicles and supply lines over the past 24 hours, government spokesperson Majid al-Nuzaili said on X, claiming the operations neutralized 239 Houthi fighters and destroyed or damaged 117 military vehicles and pieces of combat equipment. The Houthis, meanwhile, said Saudi forces carried out 101 air and missile strikes on Sanaa and eight provinces over the same period, claiming dozens dead or wounded, including women and children. Neither side's figures could be independently verified, as access for independent journalists in Yemen remains severely restricted.
Fresh explosions were also heard near Aden airport on Wednesday, shortly after the Houthis renewed their evacuation warning, local sources said, and hundreds of passengers, including patients, left the facility following the warnings. Government forces said they continued to consolidate gains in the southwestern province of Taiz, while offensive operations continued in other provinces.
The escalation comes as fighting between the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen's government has intensified in recent weeks, opening a volatile new front in the wider U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. Last month, Houthi forces advanced toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, one of the world's most strategically important shipping routes. Yemen's war is already one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with millions facing famine and displacement, and Houthi strikes on Saudi territory and shipping lanes carry implications for energy markets and Red Sea trade.
Sources: Reuters (Oct 28, 2026); IANS via Xinhua (Oct 29, 2026). Casualty and strike figures are claims by the parties and have not been independently verified.
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