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Saudi Arabia\u2019s Civil Defense lifted an alert it had announced in the southern city of Khamis Mushait on Wednesday, a day \u200bafter Houthi attacks there and in three other nearby cities wounded 73 \u200cpeople and set oil installations ablaze.<\/strong><\/p>\n Yemen\u2019s Houthis struck an airbase in Khamis Mushait and oil infrastructure in the nearby cities on Tuesday in one of the biggest attacks in \u200bSaudi Arabia since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran in \u200bFebruary.<\/span><\/p>\n Saudi authorities did not provide details for the reasons behind \u2060Wednesday\u2019s alert in Khamis Mushait.<\/span><\/p>\n Fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis has escalated \u200bin recent months, raising fears of a return to broader conflict after a U.N.-brokered \u200btruce in 2022 largely halted years of war.<\/span><\/p>\n Saudi Arabia leads an Arab coalition that backs a government based in Yemen\u2019s south, which was driven from the capital Sanaa by the \u200bHouthis 12 years ago. The conflict has become a theatre in the wider \u200bregional war, with the Houthis close allies of Iran and Saudi Arabia an ally of the \u200cUnited \u2060States.<\/span><\/p>\n The Houthis declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea in July, prompting the Saudi-led coalition to strike what it said were Houthi military facilities in Yemen.<\/span><\/p>\n In recent days, Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces have launched a multi-pronged \u200boffensive on Houthi-held \u200bareas after the \u2060group attempted to advance on government positions. The government says it aims to recapture all Houthi-held territory.<\/span><\/p>\n Houthi-run Al Masirah TV, \u200bciting the group\u2019s health ministry, said at least 21 people \u200bhad been \u2060killed in Saudi strikes on Yemen\u2019s Al Jawf over the past two days. Saudi Arabia has not announced or confirmed carrying out strikes there.<\/span><\/p>\n