SANAA/ANKARA – Yemen's Houthi group said Wednesday that Saudi Arabia had carried out 52 air and missile strikes against Houthi-held areas across five Yemeni provinces over the past 24 hours, as intensified fighting and aerial attacks continued on several fronts.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement posted on social media platform X that Saudi F-15 and Typhoon fighter jets, operating from the Saudi air bases of Khamis Mushait and Taif, along with missiles launched from the direction of the Saudi city of Jizan, struck areas in the provinces of Hodeidah, Taiz, Al-Bayda, Marib and Saada.

The strikes killed and wounded a number of people, including women and children, and damaged telecommunications networks, schools, bridges and roads, Sarea said, without providing a casualty toll.

ALSO READ: Houthi media: At least 17 killed in Saudi airstrikes across Yemen

Sarea said the latest attacks brought the total number of Saudi air and missile strikes since the current escalation began to 988, a figure that Saudi Arabia has not immediately commented on.

Meanwhile, Yemeni government forces said in a statement posted on X on Wednesday that an airstrike targeted a meeting of Houthi leaders in Al-Wazi'iyah district in the western parts of Taiz province.

"We targeted a meeting of Houthi militia leaders" in Al-Wazi'iyah, the government forces said, without providing details on possible casualties.

Local residents told Xinhua that armed Houthi fighters deployed around the bombed site shortly after the strike and prevented people from approaching the area.

The strikes came amid an escalating confrontation between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, with Saudi airstrikes targeting Houthi-held areas across Yemen and the group launching missiles and drones at targets deep into the kingdom.

Yemen's conflict erupted in late 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in 2015 to support the internationally recognized Yemeni government.

Houthis: More than 400 ships crossed Bab al-Mandab Strait

Also on Wednesday, the Houthi group said that more than 400 commercial vessels had crossed the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait between Sept 11 and Sept 21, as fighting continued near the key waterway.

In a statement aired by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV, the group said 408 commercial vessels transited the strait over this period, with 196 heading north toward the Red Sea and 212 south toward the Gulf of Aden.

It said daily traffic averaged more than 40 commercial vessels, including container ships, and claimed that international shipping was proceeding normally and safely, except for Saudi vessels, which it said are subject to a maritime ban.

The group added that the latest figure exceeded the 393 commercial vessels recorded between Sept 1 and Sept 10, when 199 traveled north and 194 south.

ALSO READ: Riyadh targeted amid escalation concerns

The numbers could not be independently verified. Separate ship-tracking data have shown fluctuations in traffic through Bab al-Mandab since the latest escalation, including periods of sharply reduced daily crossings.

The statement comes amid heightened international attention on the waterway following the Houthis' rapid territorial gains along Yemen's southwestern Red Sea coast. Houthi forces seized the strategic port city of Mocha on Sept 10 and Mayyun Island in the heart of the strait the following day.

Bab al-Mandab Strait connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and forms part of a major maritime corridor linking Asia and Europe through the Suez Canal, making developments around the strait closely watched by global shipping.

Turkish frigate makes port visit to Saudi Arabia

In Ankara, the Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that Türkiye's TCG Kemalreis frigate is making a port visit to Saudi Arabia's port city of Jeddah.

The visit, which began on Sunday, will last until Thursday, according to the statement.

On board the frigate, commanders of the Turkish side met their counterparts of the Saudi-led Multinational Maritime Defense Coalition and the Royal Saudi Naval Forces.

READ MORE: Report: Trump says Houthis agreed not to fight US

Saudi Arabia announced in July the establishment of a multinational maritime defense alliance it said aimed at protecting shipping lanes in the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden.

In August, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement in the Saudi city of Mecca, stipulating that an attack on any signatory will be considered an attack on all.