Saudi air defences intercepted two ballistic missiles fired by Yemen’s Houthi movement towards the Mecca region on Wednesday, Saudi Arabia’s civil defence said, in the latest escalation of a conflict that has flared again after years of relative calm.
Debris from the intercepted missiles fell in several locations, including Sabuhah village, the civil defence said in a statement. It did not report any casualties. The Houthis, who are aligned with Iran, have yet to comment on the latest incident.
Saudi Arabia accused the Houthis of deliberately targeting civilian areas. “This hostile targeting of civilian objects constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and reflects the dangerous hostile approach pursued by the Houthi militia,” the civil defence said early on Thursday.
The Houthis have repeatedly denied Saudi accusations that they target Mecca and Medina, Islam’s two holiest cities, saying their military operations are directed at military and strategic targets elsewhere in Saudi Arabia. That denial could not be independently verified, and the account of Wednesday’s launches rests on the Saudi authorities’ statement alone.
The incident follows a sharp escalation in recent days. On Sunday, Houthi missiles targeted the Saudi capital, Riyadh, with falling debris damaging the Aramco Tower, and Saudi airstrikes near Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, killed 27 people on Saturday in what the Houthis described as the deadliest attack since July.
The Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014, prompting Saudi Arabia to intervene militarily the following year in support of the internationally recognised government. A United Nations-brokered truce in 2022 largely froze the conflict, but hostilities resumed earlier this year, with the Houthis launching missile and drone attacks on Saudi territory and Riyadh carrying out airstrikes in Yemen.
The latest escalation has also threatened the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key shipping route linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, raising the stakes for global trade as well as for civilians caught in the crossfire.
Sources: Reuters — “Saudi Arabia says debris from intercepted missiles falls in Mecca region” (https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-says-debris-intercepted-missiles-falls-mecca-region-2026-11-12/)
Note: The featured image is a file photo of the Great Mosque of Mecca, not of the missile debris.
