Sanaa , Yemen ( CNN ) In just a few weeks , good relations with neighbors have become a matter of survival for Yemen 's President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi . On Saturday , he joined his allies in Egypt , while battles raged on in his country . After Houthi rebels occupied the capital Sanaa weeks ago , his government fled . When Hadi called for military intervention to beat back their attempt to overthrow him , adjacent countries answered with a grand airstrike operation . In the darkness of early Saturday , their jets increased the hail of ordnance on Sanaa , as Saudi led operation al-Hazm Storm went into its third day . And Hadi waited in Sharm el-Sheikh , Egypt to meet with the region 's leaders at the Arab League summit . This past `` night was by far the scariest night since the raids started , '' said journalist Hakim Almasmari in Sanaa . `` The strikes were so strong and continuous . '' The jets bombarded Hadi 's weapons caches and other military assets , Houthi and Yemeni government officials said . Saudi Arabia has blockaded the Houthis , effectively cutting off their supply lines , and its air force controls Yemeni airspace . Saudi Arabia and Egypt have spoken about the possibility of putting boots on the ground . The Arab League is expected to give its official blessing to al-Hazm Storm on Saturday , which could clear the way for a ground invasion , CNN 's Becky Anderson reported . But a few member nations , such as Shiite majority Iraq or possibly Algeria , could give military action a thumbs down . Though the Saudi kingdom has taken the lead with some 100 warplanes , the coalition partners include the United Arab Emirates , Kuwait , Bahrain , Qatar , Jordan , Morocco , Sudan and Egypt . Arab Spring was n't supposed to turn out like this . Together they comprise about a third of the Arab League 's membership . They are majority Sunni Muslim nations , and the Houthi rebels are Shiite Muslims allied with Iran . Having Yemen become an Iranian satellite country on its border would be perceived as a major threat by neighboring Saudi Arabia , which sees the Houthis as proxies of Tehran , Saudi Arabia 's bitter rival on the Persian Gulf . Iran has sharply denounced the armed intervention . The United States , on the other hand , strongly approves of it and is supporting it logistically , and aiding coalition forces in locating targets , but it is not participating in active battle . A small contingency of U.S. forces had been stationed in Yemen to help in the fight against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula , but left once Houthi rebels took the capital . Dozens of people have died in the strikes , and on Saturday , Human Rights Watch said many of the victims were civilians , perhaps as many as 34 . `` Reports of air strikes and anti-aircraft weapons in heavily populated areas raise serious concerns that not enough is being done to ensure their safety , '' HRW regional spokesman Joe Stork said . A Saudi Arabia defense official blamed civilian deaths on the Houthis , saying they were using them as human shields . Brig . Gen. Ahmed bin Hasan Asiri said the kingdom 's military was using precision weapons to avoid collateral damage , state-run Saudi News Agency reported . Media outlets have come under fire as well . An hour after Hadi ordered the closure of all Houthi-controlled media -- including Yemen TV and Saba TV -- Houthis raided two TV channels and the prominent Al Masdar newspaper . Al Jazeera 's office in Sanaa was also targeted , the Qatar-based network said , with Houthis looting security cameras and damaging equipment . Opinion : Why Yemen has come undone . Journalist Hakim Almasmari reported from Yemen , and CNN 's Ben Brumfield wrote this story from Atlanta . CNN 's Becky Anderson , Salma Abdelaziz and Mustafa al-Arab contributed to this report .
Yemen 's President rallies support on Saturday in Egypt . Arab League blessing of military action may set the stage for a ground invasion .