The story

Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthis accused each other of attacks on Tuesday. Saudi Arabia said Houthis targeted three cities, injuring 13 people. The Houthi-run Health Ministry said Saudi airstrikes killed three people, including two children, in Taiz province. Saudi Arabia issued emergency alerts in several cities overnight and on Tuesday afternoon for Mecca, Jeddah and Taif, the most widespread alerts in a single day since fighting intensified.

In recent days, the Houthis seized the Red Sea port city of Mokha, Perim Island in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, and the Greater Hanish and Lesser Hanish islands. The advances strengthen Houthi control over the strait, which connects the Red Sea to the open ocean. The Houthis have declared a blockade on Saudi shipping and attacked vessels and oil facilities since late July. Hostilities have displaced approximately 125,000 people in Yemen since September, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in Cairo on Tuesday. They confirmed their shared commitment to ensuring freedom and security of maritime navigation in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb Strait. An attack days ago reportedly by Iran's allied militias in Iraq damaged Saudi Arabia's biggest pipeline, the East-West Pipeline, which will be largely shut down for weeks, likely taking several million barrels of oil a day off the market. The attacks have helped drive a surge in global oil prices.