Yemen’s Houthi movement has rejected accusations from Riyadh that the group launched a drone toward Mecca, Islam’s holiest city. A Houthi spokesperson dismissed the allegation on Wednesday as a Saudi lie.
The spokesperson stated that their forces directed a drone at a pumping station in Yanbu on the Red Sea instead. He added that Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport was targeted using three cruise missiles.
Earlier, the Saudi-led coalition announced it had intercepted three cruise missiles directed at Riyadh, along with drones launched toward Mecca and the southern regions of the kingdom. Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defence Authority reported that debris from two intercepted ballistic missiles fell in the village of Sabuhah within Mecca province. The authority condemned the incident as a violation of international humanitarian law.
Fighting simultaneously escalated inside Yemen between Houthi fighters and Saudi-backed forces allied with the internationally recognised government. Majed Abdullah al-Nuzaili, spokesperson for Yemen’s army, stated that 138 Houthi fighters were killed or wounded in recent operations.
According to al-Nuzaili, the Saudi-backed army executed 773 field artillery attacks alongside 44 drone strikes and 37 rocket attacks. These operations took place across al-Jawf, Marib, al-Bayda, and Taiz governorates, and coalition air strikes destroyed 86 heavy weapons and military vehicles.
Despite these military operations, government forces failed to halt Houthi shelling in the al-Buraiqa district of Aden. Information Minister Salem al-Awalqi condemned the shelling on social media as an attack on densely populated civilian areas. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree confirmed that his forces targeted a coalition command centre in al-Buraiqa, stating via Telegram that the facility was struck using several ballistic missiles.
The World Health Organization reported that total casualties in the conflict reached 11,755 by November 8. This figure includes 2,098 deaths and 9,657 injuries, with more than 2,000 casualties recorded over a nine-day span.
Marib and Lahij remain among the worst-affected governorates. Displacement has surpassed 320,000 people since August, with nearly 16,000 fleeing their homes within a single week.
The WHO warned that air strikes have hit health facilities and ambulances. Critical fuel shortages continue to disrupt emergency medical services in Taiz despite ongoing aid deliveries.
