World · Middle East · 1 hr ago
Yemen fighting intensifies as Houthis deny targeting Mecca
Yemen’s Houthis denied targeting Mecca, Islam’s holiest city, after Saudi Arabia said it intercepted drones headed towards the city.
The group said it instead launched a drone at an oil pumping station near Yanbu and three cruise missiles at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport.
Saudi Arabia said its air defences intercepted the missiles and that debris from two ballistic missiles fell in Mecca province.
The claims come as fighting intensifies between the Houthis and forces backing Yemen’s internationally recognised government.
Both sides have reported attacks in several parts of Yemen, including Aden, where the Houthis said they targeted a military command centre.
Yemen’s health crisis is worsening, with the World Health Organization reporting 11,755 casualties by November 8, including 2,098 deaths.
More than 320,000 people have been displaced by fighting since August 1, and strikes and fuel shortages are disrupting health services.
The WHO said medical supplies and a vaccination campaign are under way, but major gaps in trauma care remain.
Fighting between Yemen’s internationally recognised government and the Houthis has intensified, with casualties rising to 11,755 by November 8, according to the World Health Organization.
More than 320,000 people have been displaced by fighting since August 1, the WHO said.
The Houthis denied Saudi claims that they targeted Mecca, saying they launched a drone at an oil pumping station near Yanbu and three cruise missiles at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport.
Saudi-led coalition forces said they intercepted three cruise missiles launched towards Riyadh and drones launched towards Mecca and southern Saudi Arabia.
Both sides reported attacks in Aden, where the Houthis said they targeted a Saudi coalition military command centre and Yemen’s information minister accused them of shelling a densely populated district.
- Who
- Yemen’s internationally recognised government and its Saudi-backed forces are fighting the Houthis.
- What
- Fighting has intensified, and the Houthis denied targeting Mecca while claiming strikes on Riyadh airport and a pumping station near Yanbu.
- When
- The reports were published on November 11 and 12, 2026; the WHO casualty figures were current as of November 8.
- Where
- Yemen, including Aden and several governorates; Saudi Arabia, including Riyadh, Mecca and Yanbu.
- Why
- The sources describe fighting between the government’s forces and the Houthis but do not state a specific cause for the latest escalation.
Saudi-led coalition and Saudi authorities
Houthis
Mecca attack
Saudi-led coalition and Saudi authorities
Saudi-led coalition forces said they intercepted drones launched towards Mecca; Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defence Authority described the alleged targeting as hostile.
Houthis
The Houthis denied targeting Mecca and called Saudi claims a lie.
Targets of Houthi operations
Saudi-led coalition and Saudi authorities
Saudi-led coalition forces said they intercepted missiles launched towards Riyadh and drones launched towards Mecca and southern Saudi Arabia.
Houthis
The Houthis said they targeted Riyadh airport and a pumping station near Yanbu, and said their operations were directed exclusively against Saudi oil facilities and military bases.
The period covered by the WHO’s displacement figures began.
The WHO reported 11,755 casualties in Yemen, including 2,098 killed and 9,657 wounded.
Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree denied an attack on Mecca and said the group had struck Riyadh airport and a pumping station near Yanbu.
Al Jazeera reported that more than 320,000 people had been displaced since August 1.
- WHO casualties by November 8
- 11,755 total: 2,098 killed and 9,657 wounded
- Displacement since August 1
- More than 320,000 people
- Riyadh airport
- Houthis said they launched three cruise missiles at King Khalid International Airport
- Yanbu
- Houthis said a drone targeted Pumping Station No. 11
- Aden
- Houthis claimed a strike on a Saudi coalition command centre in al-Buraiqa district
3 sources
What people are saying
successfully targeted
The Saudi enemy’s claims about intercepting <…> [a drone] in Mecca’s airspace are yet another lie
The repeated shelling by the terrorist Houthi militia on the city of Aden, most recently targeting the densely populated al-Buraiqa district, reflects the militia’s established pattern of targeting civilians and terrorising innocent people