Turki bin Saleh Al-Maliki, of the Royal Saudi Air Force, held a press conference at the Armed Forces Officers Club in the Saudi capital Riyadh on July 2, 2020, following airstrikes on the rebel-held Yemeni capital. Credit: FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

(CNN)-- Saudi Arabia announced on Monday that it intercepted ballistic missiles launched by the Iran-backed Yemeni Houthi group towards the southern region of the kingdom.

The official spokesman for the coalition forces in Yemen, Major General Turki Al-Maliki, said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA): 'Air defenses dealt with a threat from ballistic missiles launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards the southern region.'

This comes after the Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of launching a series of airstrikes on Sanaa International Airport.

The Houthis warned that the attack would end a de facto truce that had lasted for years between the two sides.

The Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said in a post on platform X that what he described as 'Saudi aggression' on Sanaa International Airport ends the 'de-escalation phase and it must bear the consequences of its aggression... We affirm that this aggression will not go unanswered and unpunished.'

These conflicting accusations represent a sharp escalation in tensions between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, who have largely adhered to an informal truce in recent years despite the absence of a formal peace agreement.