Fighting intensifies in Yemen as Houthis deny targeting Mecca

Detailed summary

World Health Organization says more than 320,000 people have been displaced in Yemen fighting since August 1.

Yemen’s Houthis have rejected Saudi claims that they targeted Islam’s holiest city, Mecca, as casualties surge in the war between the internationally recognised government and the Iran-allied Houthis.

A Houthi spokesperson on Wednesday denied what he called Saudi “lies” that the Iran-allied group had launched a drone towards Mecca, saying instead that a drone was launched at a pumping station in Yanbu on the Red Sea, and Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport was targeted with three cruise missiles.

Earlier, Saudi-led coalition forces said they had intercepted three cruise missiles launched towards Riyadh, along with drones launched towards Mecca and Saudi Arabia’s southern regions.

Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defence Authority said debris from the interception of two ballistic missiles fell in the village of Sabuhah in Mecca province.

“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,” Saudi Arabia’s civil defence said early on Thursday.

Suspected Houthi missile strikes in the kingdom came as fighting intensified inside Yemen between the Saudi-backed forces fighting on behalf of the internationally recognised government and Houthi fighters.

At least 138 Houthi fighters were killed or wounded in hundreds of targeted attacks, according to Majed Abdullah al-Nuzaili, the spokesperson for Yemen’s army.

In a post on X, al-Nuzaili said Yemen’s Saudi-backed army had carried out 773 field artillery attacks on top of 44 drone strikes and 37 rocket attacks in al-Jawf, Marib, al-Bayda and Taiz governorates.

He also said Saudi-led coalition forces had conducted 23 air strikes against the Houthis, damaging 86 heavy weapons and military vehicles.

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