The sum is part of the $1.2 billion approved last year to prop up Yemen's government, which was forced out of the capital, Sanaa, by the Yemeni Houthi rebels in 2014.

The money was allocated "to address the Yemeni government's budget deficit", the official told AFP. Saudi Arabia also made payments of $250 million in February and in August last year.

"The funds aim to support salaries, operational expenses, enhance food security and assist economic reforms, reflecting (Saudi Arabia's) commitment to Yemen's security, stability and prosperity," the official said.

Neighbouring oil-rich Saudi Arabia launched a military campaign at the head of a multinational coalition in 2015, hoping to dislodge the Houthis.

The ensuing war has cost hundreds of thousands of lives through fighting or indirect causes such as hunger, and triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

Meanwhile, the ousted, Saudi-backed government -- now based in Aden in Yemen's south -- has long struggled to finance basic services.

Although a UN-brokered ceasefire has sharply curtailed fighting since April 2022, the Arabian Peninsula's poorest country remains volatile.

The Houthis are currently locked in escalating hostilities with Israel, with repeated missile and drone attacks prompting Israeli air raids on multiple targets on Thursday.

Months of Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping, in solidarity with Palestinians and to press Israel to end its war on Gaza, have also brought reprisal strikes from the United States and Britain.

The Houthis have insisted they would halt their attacks as soon as an immediate ceasefire is established in the Israeli war on Gaza.