( CNN ) The onslaught on Houthis rebels in Yemen continued Tuesday , with the Saudi-led coalition asserting increasing control while locals fled the chaos and casualties piled up -- dozens of civilians among them . Five days after their first airstrikes , the coalition has destroyed air defense systems of the Houthis and supporters of Yemen 's longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh , and rendered all but a fraction of air bases and stripes unusable , a Saudi source said . Saudi Arabia 's navy now controls all Yemeni ports , allowing only closely watched non-military medical goods to pass its blockade , according to the source . This effort is n't over , including widespread attempts to locate and destroy Scud missiles still in the country , the source said . The Saudis appear intent on seeing it through , as evidenced by remarks from Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal in Riyadh . `` The Houthi militia and agents of the former president -- supported by Iran -- insist to meddle in Yemen , reshuffle the cards , rob the Yemeni will , make a coup against the constitutional legitimacy and reject all peaceful solutions , '' al-Faisal said , according to the state-run Saudi Press Agency . `` We are not warmongers , '' he added . `` But if war 's drums are beaten , we are ready for them . '' The airstrikes -- the latest focused around Aden , Taiz and coastal cities -- come at a cost , and not just to Houthi rebel fighters . The International Red Cross said that intense fighting had brought `` disturbing reports of civilian casualties , '' with some of the worst violence around the port city of Aden . Erich Ogoso , a spokesman with the United Nations ' humanitarian agency , reported 182 dead and hundreds more wounded just between last Wednesday and Sunday . Some 75,000 people have been displaced in the past week , many health facilities shut down and food prices have skyrocketed . `` Increasing hostilities have led to ( the ) targeting of schools , health facilities and other social infrastructure , '' Ogoso said . `` ... There are reports of damage to residential areas in different cities , and in Aden , minors have reportedly taken part in the fighting on all sides . '' Airstrikes that hit the Al-Mazraq camp for displaced persons near Sanaa killed at least 29 people -- women and children among them , according to aid group Doctors Without Borders . About 1,100 families live in the camp , said U.N. 's humanitarian affairs coordinator for Yemen , Johannes Van Der Klaauw . `` They are , '' he said , `` among the most vulnerable people in Yemen . '' Yemen has been in disarray for some time , beset by widespread poverty and insecurity . Those factors helped terror groups like al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula find homes in the Arab nation , but did n't help its 26 million citizens in their quest for peace and prosperity . The instability escalated as the Houthis , a minority group long marginalized in Yemen , increasingly challenged the government of President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi ( who in 2012 took over for Saleh , who had been in power for 33 years ) . The Houthis began moving into Sanaa in September , then headed into Aden earlier this month -- advancing despite intermittent ( and , time and again , unsuccessful ) talks aimed a peaceful political solution to the unrest . Things finally came to a head last week , with Hadi -- who claims to still be President , even though the Houthis control government institutions -- left Yemen . At roughly the same time , Saudi Arabia and its allies came in with force to support Hadi , who they say remains Yemen 's legitimate leader . The burgeoning conflict threatened to open a wider rift , not just in the region but in the Muslim world . That 's because the Saudis have painted the Houthis as tools of Iran 's government , an accusation that also reflects the fact Saudi Arabia ( and their allies in the coalition ) are predominantly Sunni Muslims , while Iran and the Houthis are Shiites . The state-run Saudi Press Agency quoted Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Saud al-Faisal as saying Tuesday that he would not condemn Iran , but would instead test the country 's intentions `` by extending our hands to it as a Muslim neighbor to open a new page . '' If those two countries could achieve real cooperation , it could ease the pressures that are tearing Yemen apart . On the other side , Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that officials in his country and Saudi Arabia can help bring about a `` political solution '' in Yemen , according to Iran 's state-run Press TV , citing AFP . If they do n't , war could inflame the entire region . `` We strongly object to the military solution in Yemen , '' Amir-Abdollahian said , reiterating a view made by other Iranian officials . `` We believe that the Saudi military attack against Yemen is a strategic mistake . ''
Saudi minister : `` If war 's drums are beaten , we are ready for them '' .