Saudi Arabia, a significant international actor in Yemen's prolonged civil war, called for restraint on Sunday following an Israeli strike that the Huthi rebels claimed killed six individuals. The Israeli attack on the Huthi-controlled city of Hodeida "intensifies the existing tensions in the region and disrupts the ongoing attempts to end the conflict in Gaza," according to a statement from the Saudi foreign ministry. The ministry urged all parties to "exercise utmost restraint and to protect the region and its inhabitants from the perils of war."
Saudi Arabia formed an international military coalition against the Huthis in 2015, though a ceasefire has mostly been in place for the last two years. The kingdom's efforts to negotiate a peace agreement in Yemen have been hindered by the Huthi rebels' anti-shipping campaign in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The rebels have attacked nearly 90 ships since November, claiming it is to show support for Palestinians in the Gaza conflict.
Meanwhile, as the world's largest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia has been navigating a complex diplomatic path, seeking to withdraw from the conflict at its borders. It has not joined the US-led naval coalition aimed at deterring Huthi attacks nor participated in the US and Britain's strikes on Yemen since January. The foreign ministry's statement on Sunday reiterated the kingdom's "ongoing commitment to peace initiatives in Yemen to prevent further suffering for its people."
