Houthi missiles reach Saudi holy cities as strikes hit Sanaa
Saudi Civil Defense reported intercepting two ballistic missiles near Mecca and Medina after Houthi leaders announced attacks on oil sites and airports.
By Pablo Montgomery ·
Saudi Arabia's Civil Defense agency announced on Saturday that it intercepted two ballistic missiles fired by Yemen's Houthi movement. The projectiles were aimed at the Mecca and Medina regions, and debris from the intercepts landed in Jeddah, Taif, and Rabigh.
The interceptions followed a Houthi claim that their forces struck several Saudi targets earlier in the day. The group listed a Saudi Aramco facility in Yanbu, the Rabigh oil refinery, and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh among the sites hit.
Yahya Saree, the military spokesperson for the Houthi group, stated that their attacks also targeted King Fahd International Airport in Dammam. He further identified Najran airport and an air base in Khamis Mushait as additional objectives.
In Yemen, the Saba News Agency reported that the National Commission for Human Rights condemned Saudi airstrikes in Sanaa. The commission described an incident in the Asr neighborhood as a massacre and reported a strike on a cement factory in the Hamdan district of Sanaa Governorate.
These exchanges occurred after the US State Department updated its travel advisory for Israel on Friday. The notice warned of a heightened threat of armed attacks by Iran-backed Houthi forces and the potential for rapid regional escalation. The overall travel classification for Israel remained at Level 3, urging US citizens to reconsider travel due to terrorism and unrest.
The State Department cited past Houthi strikes on Saudi civilian airports and critical infrastructure in its warning. Those previous attacks resulted in civilian casualties and major disruptions to travel routes in the region.
Source: The Jerusalem Post
