Civilians in Saudi Arabia are a "red line" the spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, Turki Al Maliki, told Yemen's Houthi rebels on Thursday, following an increase in attacks against the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia has been the target of dozens of Houthi attacks in recent weeks, with the rebels using ballistic missiles or drones to target Saudi Arabia's most populous towns and cities.

"Targeting civilian facilities is a red line. We won’t allow this to happen," Col Al Maliki said during a press conference.

The Saudi official said the rebels are not capable of creating their own ballistic missiles and drones and claimed Iran was behind the attacks on the kingdom.

"Iran is know for smuggling weapons to the rebels, it has spread destruction and threatened the security of the region and has intentionally targeted civilians," Col Al Maliki said.

Col Al Maliki accused Tehran of supporting an organised crime network that smuggled 16 shipments of arms to the rebels.

In recent weeks, the coalition intercepted drones and missiles fired by the terrorist militias and "destroyed 118 ballistic missiles that targeted Saudi Arabia," he said.

The Saudi-led coalition launched a new military operation against Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Wednesday, days after the first reports of missiles fired at Riyadh in several weeks.

The new push comes after the coalition announced a unilateral ceasefire in early April after calls from the UN to halve all global conflicts to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

The Houthis ignored the move and carried on fighting but the regular rocket fire towards Saudi targets appeared to stop.

"The coalition started a military operation against legitimate targets belonging to the Houthi terrorist militia," the state-run Saudi Press Agency announced on Twitter.

"The operation aims to neutralise and destroy the rebels' military capabilities in response to the threats it posed."

After several weeks, Saudi Arabia said it intercepted missiles and drones launched by the Iran-backed rebels at targets in the capital of Riyadh last week.

This was the first such reported attack on targets within the kingdom by the Houthis since the Coalition ceasefire.Inside Yemen, the Houthis have used the pandemic as a recruiting tool, trying to take advantage of pupils from closed schools and those unable to work because of the virus.

The announcement came a day after the UN special envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, visited Riyadh for talks with President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi.

It was part of Mr Griffiths's attempts to build a lasting ceasefire between the warring parties and move towards peace talks amid the coronavirus pandemic.

On Wednesday night, the Security Council finally backed the March 23 call by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres for a global truce to tackle the pandemic.

The council adopted a resolution after months of talks for a compromise between the US and China over the language of the resolution.