A Saudi airstrike on Taiz in southwest Yemen killed seven people and wounded dozens more, Houthi media reported on Sunday.

The Iran-backed Houthis’ Al-Masirah TV channel said the strike killed seven and wounded 40 in a central marketplace in Taiz, minutes after reporting that a Saudi fighter jet had targeted the area.

Following years of relative calm, Yemen’s war reignited in July, against the backdrop of the widening Middle East war.

Fighting intensified in September as the Houthis launched a lightning offensive that saw them seize Yemen’s entire Red Sea coast, including the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a vital shipping lane.

The Houthis have in parallel launched a blockade on Saudi energy exports, already choked off by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

On Saturday, Saudi Arabia said it intercepted two Houthi drones that were heading in the direction of the capital Riyadh.

Schools in Riyadh announced on Sunday that they would be shifting to remote learning for a week, without giving a reason, according to messages emailed to parents and seen by AFP.

Taiz, a major city controlled by the internationally recognised government, has been thrust to the frontlines of fighting between the Houthis and government forces.

Yemen’s war erupted in 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa from the Saudi-backed government, before going on to take control of vast swathes of the country’s north.

Despite Saudi backing, Yemen’s government forces have been unable to repel the latest Houthi offensive.

Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree nonetheless reported on Saturday that Saudi air forces launched 27 strikes targeting Taiz, Marib, Saada, Amran, Ibb and Hajjah provinces.

AFP