Spokesman for Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah Movement Mohammad Abdulsalam said the increase of Saudi-led air strikes on the port city of Hodeidah will destroy peace efforts of the UN special envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths.

In remarks released on Sunday, Abdulsalam said the Saudi-led fighter jets have bombarded Hodeidah 35 times over the last 12 hours, adding that concurrently, the Riyadh-backed mercenaries pounded the city with missiles and artillery.

He further emphasized that the increase of the aggressors’ attacks on Hodeidah have revealed their hidden objectives and that the escalation will only destroy peace efforts of the UN special envoy to Yemen.

The Arabic language al-Masirah TV quoted Yemeni sources as saying that the forces of the Arabian Peninsula country, in retaliatory attacks, have managed to target and hit the positions of the mercenaries in Jizan, killing dozens of the Saudi-backed militants.

Griffiths left Yemen on Saturday after further talks with Houthi leaders in the capital, Sana’a and a visit to the Hodeidah where he called for UN supervision of its crucial port.