The United Arab Emirates has committed to rejoining the Yemen war by restarting financial support for select government units battling Iran-backed Houthis in southern areas, based on reports from Yemeni contacts. In exchange, Saudi Arabia will supply aerial support to the opposing forces.

This fresh pact marks the initial concrete evidence that longstanding tensions between the UAE and Saudi Arabia regarding Yemen's direction are easing, driven largely by shared alarm over Houthi territorial gains throughout the country.

Saudi Arabia endures repeated drone and missile strikes, finding it hard to preserve normal routines while Houthi actions disrupt airports and key energy sites.

Southern units, especially the Giant Brigades, received prior training and backing from the UAE and rank among the stronger elements in the fragmented coalition against the Houthis. Yet the UAE withdrew from Yemen operations in January and halted its financial aid.

Neither Saudi Arabia nor the UAE has addressed a recent call from southern Yemen separatists for a vote on independence that would revive the 1967-1990 borders dividing the nation into two states.

The Southern Transition Council has withheld approval for its fighters to engage beyond the former Southern Yemen lines, though a clear Saudi endorsement of a referendum could remove that limit.

Yemen's UN-recognized administration in Aden launched a counterpush last week to expel Houthi elements from Sana'a, yet progress remains modest near Majzar by Marib and the Bab al-Mandab strait.

Direct talks are absent between STC chief Aidarous al-Zubaidi and Saudi representatives. Zubaidi escaped to Abu Dhabi in January following an unsuccessful STC bid to assume control in the south and schedule a separation vote within two years, prompting Saudi strikes on UAE arms deliveries to STC groups.

The UAE then declared its full exit from Yemen involvement, and the Saudi-backed government moved to charge Zubaidi with treason.

UAE leaders express strong worry over the conflict's state. Despite heavy setbacks, the Houthis aim to seize Taiz and Marib, the last major cities outside old Southern Yemen borders.

On Friday, Houthi missiles hit Aden airport as a passenger plane readied for departure, though no injuries occurred.

The projectiles struck roughly 500 meters from the Yemenia Airways jet and about 100 meters from the runway center, according to Yemen's information minister Moammar Al-Eryani.

The assault followed a day after Houthi fire on a presidential palace in Aden left at least five dead and 16 wounded.

Egypt's leader Abdel Fatah al-Sisi announced an emergency parliament session to authorize military steps defending Saudi Arabia, while stressing no offensive moves and a focus solely on protection.

In Britain, talks persist over a Saudi appeal for added military help. The UK dispatched an RAF Voyager refueling plane, yet diplomats urge further UK involvement and closer Saudi ties with Oman and Qatar.

Legal questions surround blanket UK support for the mainly Saudi air effort, given a 2019 court ruling that found prior arms export licenses unlawful during the 2015-16 Saudi campaign in Yemen. The Campaign Against Arms Trade noted the UK failed to assess Saudi risks of breaching humanitarian law, leading to revised UK processes.

Saudi Arabia asserts it has updated its tactics greatly and acts in self-defense under the UN charter. The UN security council issued a presidential statement on 15 October affirming Saudi Arabia's right to self-defense consistent with international law.

No precise casualty figures exist for the war since August, but the UN reports over 200,000 displaced persons and growing demands on humanitarian teams based in Aden.