Saudi-backed Yemeni forces intensify strikes against Houthis on western coast

In the ancient rhythm of strike and counterstrike, Yemen's war has entered a sharper register. Following Houthi attacks on four Saudi cities that left 73 people injured, Riyadh pledged retaliation — and that pledge is now taking form as Saudi-backed Yemeni forces spread a widening counteroffensive across the country's western coast and beyond. The geography of the fighting is expanding, the cycle is accelerating, and the human consequences, as ever, remain the least visible part of the calculus.